Dark Moon
by Cheyenne Calevero
Summary: Her real family is dead, leaving her behind. She just found a new one. Possible OOC..Nnoitra x OC, Szayel x OC. Slight IchiRuki, UlquiHime/IshiHime, Hiyori x Shinji. A little bit of Kingdom Hearts near the end, setting the plot for the second story. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue- Never Knowing Is Always Best**_

_Jump. _I think, leaping over a fallen tree and landing near the edge of the river. I feel my silver paws hit the cool, fresh forest grass, and I look at the sky as the first signs of rain begin to show. "Rainstar!" My son Carmeltail yells to me, standing atop the rotting brown wood with his long claws sunk deep into the bark. I see his dark honey brown tabby pelt glimmer as the first drops of rain hit my fur. His yellow gaze pierced me, and I knew how powerful my son was beneath his soft appearance. "Can we go back to camp now? Bluefrost is dragging a rabbit back now."

I seem to smile at the name of my daughter, my quick-witted hunter. Maybe I did, but being a cat, I didn't know if it was possible to smile like the humans always did. I wished I was human sometimes, but no time to think about that. My nine lives were still all lined up waiting for the next battle. It would be awhile before I might get reincarnated. I shook out my silver tabby fur, and Carmeltail and I padded away into the camp underneath thicker trees.

"This is an amazing catch, Bluefrost!" Oakpelt, my dark brown tabby mate, compliments our daughter. Bluefrost purred in an embarrassed way, and I licked her blue-silver fur.

"Wow, Bluefrost!" Nightfeather licked her black paws and trotted over to her. "I wish I was that fast." Her brilliant golden gaze shone with pride for her clanmate and slight jealousy. Mintclaw had even complemented her; the nervous cat never talked to anyone except for Robinfeather and Carmeltail. He had silver ears and tail tip, and he flicked his tail across his mate Robinfeather's dark red pelt. I hopped up to the oak tree on the other side of the camp that the Clan leaders had always announced their news on. I addressed RoseClan with a mew that sang out like a dove's call; congratulating Bluefrost on a meal we'd only have a few times during leaf-bare. Then, jumping down, I retreated to my den for the night.

_Smoke._ I thought. _I smell smoke coming from-_ I raced forward and stopped dead in my tracks, ripping up grass as I skid across the ground. There, in my camp, was a fire, ripping through the forest. Killing my Clan. I wailed in anguish as some humans doused water on the fire, and revealed the charred bodies of my Clan lying around, some burned completely to cinders. I saw the slow rise and fall of my son's chest as he took his last breaths. I ran over to him and licked him furiously. "C-Carmeltail, c-come on!" I panted.

"Rai-" He coughed. "Rainstar, please… just… you…" He gagged again. "You've got to… to find a mate! Restore RoseClan!" He reached up weakly and licked my muzzle. "You'll be able to become… hu-" He gulped for air, but that was the last time I saw his chest rise. It fell as he lie still, and I saw the light outline of his spirit drifting towards StarClan – the place where all of them went. Leaving me alone in my anguish and fear in the center of the clearing while humans picked up the bodies of my Clan and took them away.

_**Prologue II- It's My Time, Too**_

I'm walking home.

That's right. It's me, Rainstar. Only human. I just live in an alleyway, but its…kind of warm. After my Clan died, they gave me my mission – to find a mate and restore RoseClan within ten years. Or else I'd die with them. But…I was sixteen in human years, so what could I worry about? Ten years. Twenty six. Yes, that's how old I would be if I couldn't find a mate. I would die young. I felt my son's spirit drift around me. "Rainstar," He whispered.

"I told you; in my human form you are to address me as Mia!" I snapped coldly, and then realizing my tone, I whispered, "Sorry." I rather like my name. I chose it myself. Mia Calevero. Middle name? Screw it. It's pointless. No one else has this name. It's all _mine_. Carmeltail drifted away, perhaps I'd hurt his feelings? I sighed, but my sigh turned into a scream as a man came around the corner and stabbed me through my chest. My shriek was cut off. I saw my body below me – my blue eyes open and lifeless, blood splattering my black skirt; the knife through the skull imprint on my shirt being pulled out as more blood flicked my pale face, and the way blood was leaking from my mouth. My long, straight purple hair splattered with scarlet also – sickening. I really was dead. I really did die young.

_**Chapter One- Rebirth**_

___Oh, where am I? All I see is black…_ I don't know if my eyes are closed or not. _I hear a voice…_ I swish my head back and forth, trying to pinpoint my location. Suddenly, blinding light. I blink a few more times. I hear mumbling at first, and the words I catch are from a man. "What is your name?"

"Mia…Calevero." I look around the room I'm in.

"Ah, Mia." He says, holding out a hand and helping me to my feet. "I am Sosuke Aizen. Welcome to the Espada."

"Hi, I'm Neliel. I'm supposed to show you to your rooms." A girl a little taller than me (by about an inch) held out a white-gloved hand.

"Uhm…" I eyed her seafoam hair, that red stripe across her face, the skull atop her head; I looked at it all with curious aqua eyes. "Rooms?" Neliel explained each concept as she led me to my own mini palace. With a kitchen. I loved cooking. I looked in the mirror sitting on the wall of my bedroom. "Waah! When did I get cat features? I never had these when I was human!" I patted the brown cat ears and flicked my tail, which had a pink bow with a bell tied to it. My pelt was silver when I was Rainstar… this was all so odd to me.

"Human?" A tall, lanky boy with long black hair peeked in from the doorway. "You remember being human?" I could see the 8 on his tongue. That must be his rank. I was number 5, and Neliel told me she was number 3. "What a memory you have, you Bakeneko you."

"You… don't?" I asked, shocked. I turned back to my reflection. I was wearing a white tube top that just covered the tops and underside of my breasts, nothing more. It was white, and had a black stripe around the edges, and then a black line running halfway down from the top and taking a sharp diagonal curve left where the zipper was. I felt like a slut. The skirt only had a black edge at the bottom of it where it stopped halfway to my knees. The rest was white. I had arm warmers that went up to my elbows and had black stripes around the edges. And of course, I had a big white bow stuck to the top of the backside of my skirt that had so much extra ribbon on it, it nearly dragged on the ground when I walked. I'd tied up my purple hair into a bao style, liking it much better. My boots were all black except for the white stripes running along it the same way every Arrancar's shoes did. It was…stylish? Maybe?

"Nnoitra, get out of here!" Neliel hissed angrily, snapping my mind back to reality.

"You can't boss me around in someone else's room, Neliel." He scoffed, giving her a smirk filled with teeth. I flicked my ears in annoyance. "Lord Aizen says that the three of us have a mission to find the Vasto Lorde."

Neliel groaned. "Really? Again? Well, Mia, this will be good training for you. Come on."

I followed Neliel down the hall, taking in all the sights while I was at it. Eventually we ended up in the white dunes of Hueco Mundo, where hollows were swarming around us. "Mia!" Nnoitra called to me. "Why don't you go search?"

"Yes sir," I said, walking forward towards the nests where the hollows were probably lurking. Nnoitra stepped in front of me suddenly, blocking my path, his half moon shaped weapon slung over his shoulder.

"You're taking commands from an Espada three ranks under you, Mia?" He noted with a smirk.

"Nnoitra, go search those nests!" I said commandingly, whipping out my arm and pointing in the direction I was originally headed.

He smiled, then replied, "Yes ma'am." With that he had run off. I went in another direction to search on my own. I skirted a few nests in the area as I continued my search. "Ugh, what does this thing even _look_ like?" I yelled to myself. "How do I even find it?"

I searched for awhile, wandering far from the dome of Las Noches. "Crap, I better go back." I mumbled before being attacked by an army of over 100 hollows. _Perfect!_ I screamed inside my head. _I've never fought a battle before. I'm screwed. _I jumped up as one of the bulkier hollows tried to grab me and most likely rip my head off. I skidded to a halt farther back and looked for my zanpakuto, which, quite frankly, I didn't know where it was. "Tap the bow, Mia." A feminine voice whispered to me. No time to question who it was. I tapped my index finger against one of the gold bells hanging onto the pink bow and a glowing pink light formed the silhouette of a zanpakuto. The pink light broke away as a sword with a green hilt and a rose for a guard appeared in my hand. I brought it forward, aiming the tip at the hollows with an intent expression on my face. They all came at me at once, and as if I'd fought hundreds of battles in my lifetime, I ran forward and began slashing madly at them, watching their rough-skinned, bulky, _revolting _bodies dissipate and fade away. I smiled smugly as I watched all of them die before my hands. I'd forgotten about that girl's voice inside my head.

I began to walk back to Las Noches when Neliel excitedly approached me. "Wow! Mia, for your first fight, that wasn't bad!"

"Are you guys stalking me?" I pressed, seeing Nnoitra come out from behind a big rock.

"No. And guess what? Neliel didn't even help out with the search!" Nnoitra yelled, pointing a finger at Neliel.

"You wouldn't know unless you were stalking _me_!" Neliel spat.

"I could see you sitting on that little rock _reading_ the whole time!"

"Both of you, stop bickering before I chop you both in half!" I pushed my hands into their faces and separated them, flicking my tail as my sword turned back into the pink light and swam through the air into the ribbon on my tail. The bells jingled as I left the two standing there, stupid expressions on their faces.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two- Discovering the Rain Cat**_

__I always find it funny when you push two people over the edge, and they both get mad at you, and one of them wants to spar you claiming "he's stronger" and such. Neliel was watching with a smug look on her face, satisfied that I was beating the crap out of Nnoitra. He knew I was three ranks above him. Idiocy can take you a long way, to an oh-so-painful beating. The problem was, long range was his _specialty, _what with his half moon weapon hooked by a long chain to his pants. That was _my_ issue, and I couldn't get close enough to land a hit. _His_ issue was that I was incredibly speedy and as such, wasn't an easy target. As his blade came at me, I jumped up and landed on top of it before jumping into the air again – this time not coming down.

"What the –?" I said before noticing the fact that I had a fifteen foot wingspan and that for some reason, I was flapping my black feathered wings. Yet amazingly, I knew how to maneuver and land too, and I managed a light hit on Nnoitra's shoulder.

"You can hit harder than that!" He taunted.

"Look, I'm not trying to kill you. My intentions are not kill–" I cut off. "Adjuchas!" I yelled.

Neliel pointed a gloved finger at me. "Mia, this is a good time to show off."

I nodded and gripped my zanpakuto tighter, using Sonido and slashing at the Adjuchas level hollows. My sword bounced off some of them, and before I could blink, I'd gotten punched halfway across our battlefield. _Crap_. I thought desperately. _All I can do is dodge._

"Mia," There's that voice again. I can faintly see her image in my head; short red punk-styled hair, black choker necklace, a white kimono that is a little short-cut with a pink obi tight around her stomach area, and black stiletto lace-up heels. Her sleeves are incredibly long and fall to about her knees. Suddenly, I'm pulled into a forest area; we're standing in the clearing, her brown eyes staring at me warmly. She begins to explain Resurrección to me, and sends me back to reality. I was gone only for a second. I stood up and wiped blood off my lip. I raised my blade up, tip at the sky. "Blossom, Ameneko." My blade glowed an amber color and melted into thousands of red rose petals, and the guard of my zanpakuto began to break apart and join the mix of red that swarmed around me. As they dissipated they formed a long black whip in my fur covered hand. I was a humanoid version of Rainstar, my _former_ self. Except for the fact that my tail was split into a 'V' shape, and that I ended up firing a cero from it.

I charged forward, my paws kicking up dust as I jumped up and whipped every hollow around me. My landing wasn't as graceful, seeing as I got clutched in the bulky hand of one of the hollows. I whipped my head around, my now silver hair flying into my eyes.

"Need help?" Came Nnoitra's taunting voice from below me. "Say the words."

I snarled and bit down on the hand of the hollow, ripping out a large chunk of flesh and tossing it aside.

"Oh –," Neliel grimaced. "Really, Mia?"

I fired a cero from my forked tail, which blasted a bloody, massive hole in the hollow's hand. It bellowed and dropped me. I flicked my tail and whipped it, watching it fade as I went back to normal. "That's done." I looked at my uniform. "There's blood all over my clothes…and me. Hmm. I'll be in my room showering." With that, I turned and walked away.

"What the heck?" I yelled, looking in the mirror as I zipped my now cleaned up top. _My hollow hole. There it is. Right where I got stabbed too. Great. _I sighed. _Well, I won't tell anyone. After all, it's iffy if I have a heart to stab anymore or not._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three_**- 4 years**_

___Four years._ I think to myself. _I've been here four years. It's been six since my Clan all died off. I've got four years to find a mate. But can anyone see me? Can any cat- what am I saying, they can. _I puffed out a sigh. _How am I going to break it to those two that I'm leaving? We've become such great friends._

"Tesra," I'm sitting next to Nnoitra's only Fracción. "Where's Nnoitra?"

"Hmm? Oh, I don't know." Tesra shrugged, and when I got up, he remarked, "Your dinner's gonna get cold, Mia." I rolled my eyes and walked away. I hated that little asshole. And he only hated me because I was Nnoitra's best friend. And yes, I did piss Nnoitra off more than Tesra did on a lot of occasions, but Nnoitra never flung his weapon at my head. So there.

_Oh, there's Nnoitra. Maybe he knows where Neliel is– _My thoughts cut off. "Jiruga!" I addressed him coldly. "Neliel's spiritual pressure disappeared! Care to explain why you threw her over the side of Las Noches?"

Szayel was standing near Nnoitra with an unreadable expression on his face. He wasn't an Espada. I could easily take care of him. I tapped the pink bow on my tail and my zanpakuto flew into my hand.

"Chill. Do you want to know something, Calevero?" Great, now we're addressing each other by our last names. "I'm tired of being around Neliel. I don't know how you stand her. Anyway, you're stronger than her. She's stealing your spotlight." With that Nnoitra and Szayel turned and walked away from me. I never had the chance to tell them that this was the last time they'd see me.

A promotion to the rank 0. The strongest. I sighed. Everyone is probably sleeping. Perfect time to leave. I've got no belongings to take except the half of a heart-shaped amulet that I put on a silver chain and now wear around my neck. I began scribbling on a half sheet of paper a letter that I'm slipping under Nnoitra's door before I leave.

_"Dear Nnoitra,  
>Forgive me. My handwriting is bad. I've a mission I must fulfill though. I've got only four years left, otherwise death is my penalty. So you'll never see me again. Don't look for me. It's better for me <em>_and you __if you don't. Goodbye. If Neliel is still alive, next time you see her, don't kill her. If she remembers me, tell her that I've left. Sayonara, Nnoitra.__  
>-Mia"<em>

"That ought to do." I whisper, slipping the paper under Nnoitra's door and running out of Las Noches. I ran through the white dessert as fast as I possibly could and when I thought I was far enough I opened a garganta, which took longer than I thought, probably because I've never opened one before. Then I thought of the sappy way I opened my letter, and crossed my arms. If this thing would hurry up, I'd know for sure that we'd never see each other again. My existence would lead me back to being a normal cat. Carmeltail said that when I went back to the human world that my cat form would be visible to everyone. I could have a Clan again. I could be what I was supposed to be- Rainstar, RoseClan leader. And yet, I could also live as a spirit if I so chose for a time. Still, sadness clenched around my heart, and it almost made me decide to stay. I must've grown fond of this place. But I knew death wasn't the path I wanted to walk down. I wasn't going to find a cat here. Not one like Oakpelt was. I lifted my fist up to where my heart… _was_… and clenched that fist with my other hand, waiting while the garganta hit the halfway point of opening.

"Mia," I whipped around.

"Nnoitra…" I turned back to the half open garganta. "I thought you were asleep."

"You think I didn't wake up when I noticed your spiritual pressure leak out when you began opening this thing?" I faced him. "Oh, and your handwriting _is_ crap. I would've been here a lot sooner had I not taken five minutes reading the first sentence." Nnoitra dragged his weapon in the dirt as he stepped closer to me. I backed up.

"I don't want to fight anymore." I admitted finally. "Tired of it. I've gotta get that mission done anyway. You… just stay here. We'll never see each other again. Goodbye." I walked through the garganta and the blackness swallowed me up as the mouth of it closed. By the look on his face, I could tell that I'd really, really hurt him like that. But I had to get over that guilt.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four- Invasion**_

_** "**__Crap" _was the first word I thought when I heard that the Arancars were invading Karakura. Well, for censorship purposes, I thought "crap". For one thing, no one knows I _know_ some of them. Ichigo keeps pestering me to fight, and I refuse for a reason. Reason one is that they don't know _who I am_ and reason two is that I'm iffy on my loyalty right now. What if I saw Nnoitra or Neliel come through one of these gargantas? If they got attacked, I'd fight on their side. But then I'd also fight on Karakura's side too. Basically, I'd block every attack that they threw at each other. It was best if I steered clear of the battle. I'd obtained a gigai and I'd gotten an outfit like the one I wore for the two years I was a living human. I'd attended Karakura High and met the people who were bracing themselves for the battle. I'd met _Shinigami_ and that meant I was screwed if they found out what I was. Unless they were true friends, and appreciated me. And after all, I've got three Resurreccións, so maybe they wouldn't be a problem. Yes, you heard me. Three Resurreccións. All super powerful. I'm so amazing, aren't I? Yea, bring on the fanboys. I'm… actually, I'm not prepared. Scratch that. Anyway. I haven't found a mate yet. It's sad. Because it's been six months since I left and – oops, look at that! – Here begins the invasion that's screwing up my inner emotions and loyalties and whatnot.

There was a crash in the middle of the park where Ulquiorra Schiffer and Yammi-I-don't-care-what-his-name-is-because-he's-a-jackwagon landed and nearly killed Tatsuki and Chad. Then Grimmjow Jeagerjaques attacked Ichigo and I swear when I walked by that night, they both saw me. There's been too much going on to talk about. Shinji Hirako joined our class too, and he's annoying as heck and needs a good punch in the eye from moi. I've been sitting on this cold metal park bench watching a battle far off in the sky, and it looks like the Shinigami are getting their butts handed to 'em. I'm not in my gigai – I stored it at the mansion which I live in – and I lie back on the bench and stare at the clouds. _Where does my loyalty belong? _I closed my eyes.

"Err… Well, she fell asleep. Of course." A voice echoes inside my head. "Mia, wake up."

"No, don't let me die Oakpelt!" I scream in my sleep.

"Yo, stop talkin' in your sleep and wake up!" I open my eyes groggily. A tall man stands over me, his overblown hood shading my eyes from the harsh sunlight and his long black hair dangling about a foot from my eyes. "Bad dream? You've got three and a half years. Don't scream so loudly."

I sit up, and I recognize the person in front of me. "N-Nnoitra?" I stammered. "You look so different!"

"And you look the same, can we go now?" He crosses his arms.

I blinked. "Where?"

"Back to Hueco Mundo. I hate to threaten you, but Aizen says that if you don't come then he'll personally murder all of your human and Shinigami friends."

"Well, then I guess I'm coming." I smirked. "One thing – I'm not loyal to Aizen anymore. And–" I whispered in his ear, standing on my toes to reach. "I'll be the one who kills him."

"Welcome back, Mia." It takes oodles of my self-control to not roll my eyes at Aizen, who is sitting in the throne far above my head. "And welcome, Orihime Inoue."

"Aizen…sama," I choke out, nearly gagging when I addressed him respectfully. "Why have we," I flicked my gaze to Orihime's captor, Ulquiorra, and back to Aizen. "Brought her here?"

And for the next few minutes, there's "blah blah blah, her power." "Blah blah blah it's oh-so-important." "Blah blah blah she's not _useless as heck_." I was about to yell how useless she was battle-wise and that her so called "healing" was nothing compared to that of my own, but I held my tongue. And, for the record, I'd be able to smash her shield into five-hundred pieces, but that's just me.

I retreat to my room (actually, I'm escorted because Aizen doesn't trust me, and he shouldn't) and then locked inside. Because they changed the lock from "I can lock it from the inside and you can't get in!" to "I can't lock it from the inside and that makes you able to walk in on me while I'm bathing". The lock _had_ to be on the outside. I fear for my life now. Well, not really. But fearing that the internet will find me because, let's face it, Aizen is pretty pedo-bearish.

"Oh, they gave me a computer!" I beamed and sat down, turning the thing on. I started browsing YouTube for funny videos or something, and came upon one that was called "Miku Miku Dance Epic Collection".

"Mia? What're you watching?" Nnoitra asked as one of the 3-D Vocaloid girls slapped another one.

_"You dare bring light into my lair? You must die!" _The video echoed, and I burst out laughing and clicked the pause button. "I'm watching a fan-made video with sound clips from all these shows. It's…well, have you heard of Vocaloids?" I opened a tab and showed him one of the songs. "Yea. But this is hilarious."

_"Somebody needs a hug!" _I turned my attention back to the video as the blue-haired girl tackled the other off of the railing. Then we both burst out laughing.

After about an hour of hilarious YouTube videos, an Espada meeting was called, and of course I was supposed to go. Because I couldn't hang back and watch anymore videos. "It's important" they say. Totally worth my time. I sat down in the chair farthest away from Aizen at the end of the table. Of course I get tea, and that's all they freaking drink there, and no one understands why I gave mine to Grimmjow, who was next to me. Have they never had water in their lives? Have they never had _juice_ before? Eventually I'm convincing Aizen to go to the store in the human world and buy some dang juice.

We were shown a hologram projection of Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu breaking into Hueco Mundo, and I thought how retarded they were. Their goals were to save Orihime, and I don't get how they don't realize I'm here. I could seriously save Orihime myself, if I wanted to. Grimmjow got up suddenly and walked away, and Aizen released like, what, _all _of his spiritual pressure and caused Grimmjow to fall over. Everyone looked daunted by it, and I just kind of…sat there.

"Mia? Are you completely unaffected by it?" Harribel – the new Ms. Rank-three – asked me.

"Uh, yea, I guess so." I answered.

"I'm probably stronger than you in my Resurrección, Mia." Yammi told me, and I rolled my eyes. Just because he was rank 0 in his Resurrección doesn't mean that he was stronger than me when I was in mine.

"Let's battle and see, then!" I taunted, flicking my tail.

And there began his hideous Resurrección. I nearly laughed. "You're even uglier than before!" I yelled, and I caught a snicker from Szayel, who was now the eighth Espada. I mean, Yammi towered over me, but I could still beat him. "Blossom, Ameneko."

"Yup, he's screwed." Nnoitra remarked.

"I'm a cute kitty, try to catch me!" I yelled, slashing his whole giant, ugly face. "Aw, but my attacks aren't doing anything! What to do, what to do?"

"Yammi, you're screwed, pull out now!" Nnoitra yelled.

"Resurrección Shi no Koyote No Chen!" I excitedly landed on the ground. "Guys, back up." I said before the transformation took place. I was encased in thick, black spiritual pressure that blew up an area about the size of one of those football fields in the human world. I had to seal it off to move, and then, my sight was black. I know what I look like though. Black corset dress with black feathers hanging off the end seam. Black ribbon strapped tight over my eyes. Black wolf ears and tail. Silver chain wrapped around my middle finger that twists up my arm and around my body and locked by a heart-shaped lock…thing. And my wings become black demon wings. Pretty cool, if ya ask me. I've gotta rely simply on my other senses in this form, but it's so worth it. "Koyōte no Shi Burasuto," I fire the dark black blast straight at Yammi.

"Holy crap." Starrk commented. Huh, I thought he was asleep. Oh well. I flick my ears at the sound of Yammi hitting the ground and the soft buzzing of his Resurrección fading. I went back to normal myself and coolly walked back to the group.

"Okay, so, I'm going to go cook stuff. If anyone wants anything, tell me." I waved and started on my way to the kitchen.

"So, wait, you can actually cook?" Lillinette asked me as I stirred the bread batter around. The counter was kind of high, either that or she's really short, because her head was the only thing above it. She was apparently Starrk's "other half" and no, I don't mean that in a loving, mushy way. I mean… it's hard to explain. They were one being who split apart. Okay, there. Happy? Wonderweiss, who was born just a few days earlier, was also watching me stir, and of course he has the mind of a two-year-old because of Aizen, so the back and forth, in a circle motion was totally hypnotizing this kid. Ulquiorra said that he was clinging to Tosen, but that didn't seem to be the case here. I felt like I was babysitting. "Will you make me some cookies?"

"Sure, why not? Chocolate chip?" I asked her. She nodded. "Okay. Where do you guys get your cooking stuff anyway?"

"Uh, I don't really know. But there is a lot of stuff, so make _lots_ of cookies!" Lillinette turned and walked away. I still have a hard time believing that people let her wear an open vest and panties like that. I hope and pray that when she's older she doesn't do that.

Wonderweiss made a soft sound, and when I was done stirring I handed him the wooden spoon I was using. He somehow knew that I intended for him to lick the batter off of it. I poured the uncooked stuff into the pan and put it in the oven for awhile while I got out the cookie dough and began making the cookies.

"Having fun?" Nnoitra asked as he walked by. I rolled my eyes but flicked my ears back to show that I heard him. I heard the sound of him walking away. I continued mixing everything together before Wonderweiss stole a little chunk of dough and began eating it.

"Aaa," He cooed and tried to get more. I quickly turned away.

"You can't have any until I'm done, okay?" I told him, hoping he understood me.

Lucky for me he turned and sat down to watch the bread bake through the clear glass. Hey, at least he was occupied.

"Mia? What smells good?" Starrk – who was awake for once – asked as he walked by.

"Cookies. They're almost done."

"And Wonderweiss…?"

"Likes cookie dough." I answered simply.

I managed to bring out all five – yes, _five _– trays of cookies to the table where we usually met and then the huge bread pan out too, which probably was about two feet long, I kid you not. And Lillinette's eyes sparkled like Christmas lights when she saw it all. Guess who had to clean everything up? That's right. _Me._ They're so nice to me, aren't they? You're pondering why I'm having fun when my friends are most likely getting their butts kicked, huh? Well, that's because I have confidence they'll survive. Or something.

"Mia," Nnoitra addressed me. "We've gotta go. Since Aizen put me in charge of you–"

` "Big mistake on his part," I commented wryly.

"–you've gotta follow me and Tesra around now, because we're all about to go fight."

I rolled my eyes and put the clean plates in the cabinet. "Okay, coming." I flicked my tail.

"Wait, no, both of you just stop." I tried to throw myself between Chad and Nnoitra, who were about to kill each other. Then Tesra yelled at me and told me not to interfere, _tackled_ me out of the way, and then I watched as Nnoitra effortlessly cut down Chad. "Get off of me, you tard!" I yelled, trying to strangle him with my tail.

Nnoitra kicked Tesra in the stomach; he rolled off of me and I scrambled to my feet and dusted off my clothes. "Don't tackle me again." I growled. Chad attempted to get up again, and like the too-loyal servant Tesra was, he blocked the attack that was sent. Then Nnoitra held his much-bigger-than-last-time-I-saw-it weapon up to Tesra's throat and threatened him, and I nearly laughed my head off. I didn't, because I figured I'd better shut up before I got tackled again. It was awhile until we came upon Ichigo, who was locked in fierce combat with Grimmjow. Orihime was watching from one pillar with a little blue-haired girl next to her. If I didn't have Tesra starring at me like a creeper I would've ran and kicked Orihime out of there so _they_ would leave and I could get this "killing Aizen" plan out of the way without being pestered by Ichigo because "he wants to kill Aizen too!"

It also took awhile for Ichigo to realize I was here. It happened after Nnoitra came and impaled Grimmjow; I jumped from the pillar I was on and landed next to him. Note to self: Heal Grimmjow later.

Orihime and the little girl were on the ground too, and as instructed, I had to sit and wait on a rock nearby with Orihime and that kid. Apparently, that girl knew who I was. "Mia-sama! Don't hurt Itsygo!" She grabbed my arm and yanked it a couple times.

"How does Nel know you?" Orihime asked me.

"Oh my God." I breathed. Then I said, "I don't know, honestly!" Oh, I'm such a liar.

"Don't hurt Itsygo!" She yelled again. I nodded and smiled. _What happened to you, Neliel?_

Blah blah, battle battle. That was most the last half hour. It was driving me insane, honestly. And then Nnoitra snapped Ichigo's wrist, Nel transformed. Then she turned to me and hugged me suddenly, and my first thoughts were, "Holy crap, this is Neliel!"

"Mia! Oh, how's miss rank-five doing? I missed you soooo much!" Neliel blinked when I pulled away.

"Miss rank-five is now rank-zero." I replied, a grin on my face. I swear, you could literally see a question mark hanging above Orihime's head. I stood up and lifted the right side of my skirt to reveal the zero tattooed on my thigh. "Espada Zero – Mia Calevero. Sorry I never told you guys." I sighed. Ichigo was staring at me like he was expecting me to kill him. I just sat back down and on Orihime's offer to heal him, I intervened and healed him quicker and easier. Neliel and Nnoitra battled each other for awhile, cero here and there, weapons, Neliel's Resurrección, blah blah blah. I yawned a couple times. Then Neliel popped back to her child form, and there was this and that, fight fight.

And suddenly, everything took a turn for the worse.

Kenpachi Zaraki had arrived, and Orihime mentioned how strong he was, not to mention the fact that the little girl with the pink hair near us was chatting off to me about it. Then Nnoitra went into his Resurrección after being beaten up a bit, and I thought, "Dang, six arms and he won't help me in the kitchen." Then there was more blood, and I stood up and ran forward, jumping and landing on one of Nnoitra's weapons.

"Stop it." I held up my hand.

"What're you gonna do to stop it?" Kenpachi taunted, and I reached my hand back and brought out my sword.

"You don't know my true power. I don't think you want to." I whispered. Nnoitra jumped back, and I nearly fell but ended up landing on my feet…barely.

"She drew her sword, you're all screwed!" He put in helpfully, and I rolled my eyes.

"Mia, what're you doing?" Ichigo yelled. "You're going to get killed fighting him! You aren't strong enough."

"Idiot!" I opened my wings and showed him my rank. "You don't realize anything! I knew both of these guys," I motioned to Nnoitra and Neliel. "Four and a half years ago!"

"Mia," Nnoitra said. "Pull back. I want to be the one to kill him."

I sighed. "Very well." And then I leapt up onto a pile of debris and sat down, watching intently. That was when the final blow was landed, and Nnoitra crashed to the ground. "Oh…no…" I dashed forward.

"You shouldn't have agreed so easily, girl." Kenpachi told me, and then I snapped.

I aimed the tip of my zanpakuto at his face. "_Don't even acknowledge me._" I hissed. I turned and sat beside Nnoitra's corpse. "Well, shit." Was all that came out of my mouth before I pressed my hands into the "X" mark and began healing. And, yes, by "healing" someone who was dead, I was sacrificing one of my nine lives, but it didn't matter.

I didn't realize I was freaking _crying _until Nnoitra made another stupid remark. "Stop crying about it, you stupid bitch, I'm alive." I wanted to slap him, really freaking hard. But instead, I sobbed harder, and ended up leaning over until I was crying into his chest. After a minute, and realizing that I had other things to get to, I helped him up.

"What're you doing, Mia? He's the enemy here!" Ichigo yelled.

"_Shutup!_ I healed you already, and technically _you're _our enemy!" I walked to go heal Grimmjow, and after I was done, I continued. "If you two are enemies and I'm friends to you both, then I guess that makes me a traitor, am I right? Good. I happily vote to stay here. You know why? _I belong here. I'm going to kill Aizen, and I don't need the help of Shinigami for that!_ Take Orihime and go home, why don't you?" I transformed into my full silver tabby form and lay in the cool sand. "Your mission is done, go home."

They blinked at me and turned to grab Orihime, but Starrk intervened and took her… most likely back to Aizen. "Really, Starrk?" I mewed angrily. The next second, I transformed back, but icy hands held my wrists back and pinned me against the cold sand.

"You Espada are no longer needed, but I'll keep you for now."

I woke up with my hands shackled and held up against a wall. As I blinked again to de-fuzz my vision, I noticed someone "in my grill".

"Sorry, I've almost got the cuffs off." Nnoitra, who was also shackled, was hovering over me and talking like something was in his mouth.

"What're you using?" I asked as my face reddened from his closeness.

"Orihime's hair clip things." He answered as one shackle opened and my numb arm fell down. Orihime was standing in front of us, looking worried and distraught.

"Be careful the Rikka don't… attack…" I warned, realizing my ankles were also shackled.

Neliel, in her adult form, said, "Mia, as soon as he gets you out, will you get me out? And… I'm sensing that the other Espada are dying. Really quickly. We have to get out of here."

The other lock clicked and I reached to take the pin and undo Nnoitra's shackles. And his, because his arms were longer, were higher up. And for you hentai-people, it was almost one with our clothes on. Mostly because my DD-cup boobs were in his face. And nooooo they are not fake. I'm gifted. "Sorry!" I kept repeating once I got the shackles off, got my ankle ones off, and went to get Neliel out. Then we finally got out of our damn prison block, and I could hear Harribel's spirit wavelengths shouting, "Mia, where are you?"

"Szayel is dead too." I whispered. _Six lives left_, I thought as I gave up my third to revive him. At least his body didn't fade yet. I could still revive him. But for the safety of us all, I was not agreeing to re-build his lab. "Get up, Szayel. We've gotta find Ulquiorra."

"Crap! He's almost faded away completely!" I said as I quickly gave up my fourth life. I'll tell you, I've seen plenty of scary things (Szayel experimenting on stuff tops my list), but Ichigo when he's fully hollowfied is pretty freaky. Orihime was, well, let's say, flipping out. Of course he gets her back. Of course.

"Mia, do they know what you are?" Szayel asked finally.

"Yes, I told them." I stood up. "And next time they challenge me at reviving my friends," I shot Ichigo a menacing glare. "I'll punch 'em."

"Ha, Kurosaki, you're gonna get your butt kicked!" Nnoitra laughed.

"Last round, I promise." I said quietly, opening a garganta to the human world. We came out upon the empty fake Karakura, and from above, in the sky, I could see that Harribel was in her Resurrección, and then Aizen just cut her down. She fell, and when she was just about ten feet above the ground I jumped up and caught her, setting her gently on the pavement. "Another life gone. I've got four left." I said as the green light surrounded her. "Do you think that'll be enough?"

"Do you doubt yourself?" Nnoitra asked me. "Do you think you're not powerful enough to beat Aizen? You've got us to back you up. Your spiritual pressure is almost triple his when in your 2nd Resurrección. You're asking if four lives will get you through it?"

I lowered my tail submissively. "I don't know."

"Whaddya mean you don't know?" Nnoitra whipped me around. "Don't act submissive. You're the strongest one here, and you think you won't survive?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but sat down by a tree. "Five lives taken in one day. This is gonna take its toll later." I pressed my palm to my forehead. I flicked my ears as Neliel put her hand on my shoulder. "We should probably get up there to fight."

"Explain why we're fighting Aizen?" Szayel inquired.

"Simply – I hate his guts. From the beginning he's used us all. So, let's show him his little 'puppets' can fight back! It'll also show the Shinigami that we're _not _for killing." I rambled on enthusiastically, standing up.

"Yea, okay. Please stop talking." Harribel sat up and crossed her arms.

"Alright, then let's go!"

"Why didn't we just jump up and fight from the sky? Why the heck are we going through this garganta?" Grimmjow complained.

"For the dramatic effect!" I punched the air, and Neliel lowered my arm.

The garganta eventually opened to blinding sunlight, and we came out just above Aizen's level. I gave him an evil smirk.

"Ah, Mia. My dear Espada are here to back me up." His voice dripped honey, and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't make me laugh. We're here to kill you." I held my sword over my shoulder.

"Don't make _me_ laugh, Mia." Aizen smiled. "You didn't even choose the strongest warriors."

I let a laugh escape my lips. "Sorry, but you don't know anything about the warriors you created." I released all of my spiritual pressure at once, and instructed the group to do the same with a flick of my tail. With another flick of my tail they all went into their Resurreccións. I went into my second. I was going to bring Aizen down somehow. I brushed my long nails through my purple hair, which fell around my shoulders because the depth of my spiritual pressure snapped the ribbons holding it up into my usual bao style. "Night Sky Technique!" I aimed the tip of my blade at the sky. A dark beam shot out and turned the time around to nighttime. "Now, for the show. Resurrección Tengoku no Koyote no Sutaffu!" I smiled. My outfit turned white. The whole thing. The difference wasn't much from before, besides the sudden light colors. But my spiritual pressure whipped around me, and I heard the sound of it slicing someone to pieces. I started to hide it gradually. "Mangetsu Cero," I tipped my silver staff towards where I located Aizen by hearing, and pressed my snowy wolf ears against my head when I felt the all white Cero that was triple the power of Neliel's Cero Double leave the blue gem wedged into the top of the staff. I heard the rush of wind as my friends left my side and heard them launching their attacks. I reverted back to my normal state and watched the night sky fade back to normal. "Where's Aizen?" I asked eventually after investigating the scene.

"Disintegrated, and your terrible spiritual pressure sliced Gin in half." Szayel told me.

I smiled and flicked my tail. After a long conversation about how "we were heroes", the Shinigami left the area. Finally. Leaving us in the sky. "Okay, come. Follow me!" I led the way across the thin air and then dropped near the large forest. The one where I'd gotten my mansion. "And…" I picked the lock with my nail, because I don't bring keys to Hueco Mundo. "Here we are!" I opened the white-painted wood door and walked inside. "Ah, I missed this place!" The decorative white walls and polished tile glowed warmly at me, and I was close to dropping to the ground and rolling on the tile in joy. But I didn't. I have some self control. I walked across the wide main room (which you couldn't exactly call a living room) and up the twisty stairs to the balcony where unoccupied rooms waited. "The one at the corner is my room. You guys can have the other rooms on this floor." I called down to the group, who were eyeing the house with excited expressions. After everyone had gotten a room that they wanted, I led them to the glass sunroom that I used as a quiet room, then to the backyard. My house has biggest swimming pool ever. Like a public one. Doubled. With a curvy water slide. Yea, you're jealous. Then we toured the rest of the mansion, which I'm not going to run through because you most likely don't care about it.

"And, well – one more thing." I winked playfully.

"Mia. Why?" Harribel turned around a couple times, inspecting her gigai and the human clothes on it. She pulled the blue sleeves of her long-sleeved V-neck shirt and then flashed me a look.

"Well, you guys should be more…human now. We're all going to school." I smiled, while the rest of them glared at me.

"Mia, I really think that–" Nnoitra began, but I cut him off with a flick of my wrist.

"Tomorrow. You start school tomorrow. Now, hang out for awhile. You'll be up early tomorrow!"


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five- Six Months, three years**_

"Wake up!" I called early Saturday morning. They'd been in school for half a year now. I had three more years left. I'd better get off my butt, eh? I sighed and put down my megaphone. When no one came out of their bedroom except Neliel (who, thankfully, listened to me), I started picking locks on doors and whipping them open. Szayel was in the lab he built in a big empty room downstairs, so I left him alone for now.

I'd gotten around to Nnoitra's room, and when I'd gotten the lock open and twisted the handle, I got a pillow thrown in my face. I jumped on the bed. "Wake up!" I said before pushing him off.

"Mia!"

"Aw, lighten up. It's morning." I purred.

"It's seven, Mia." Nnoitra still lie on the floor, and I flicked my tail across his face.

"Yes. So wake up!"

"So what're the plans for today, since you're waking us up early?"

"What plans?" I tipped my head to the side. That's about when I got pushed off the end of the bed.

"I'm going back to sleep. Good night." He pushed me out of the way and slammed the door in my face.

"So, he won't get up?" Grimmjow yawned, walking sleepily towards me. "I don't blame him."

I flicked my ears and twisted the doorknob again. "Waaaaaake uuuuuup!" I smiled evilly. I stepped forward and shut the door behind me. I thought I heard him hiss: "Get out!" but I wasn't sure. I raised my voice to a yell. "Wake the hell up!"

"Shut the hell up!" Nnoitra growled, and I changed my expression from my playful grin to an upset stare.

"Get. Up. _Now._" I snarled.

"No."

I pushed my palm to my forehead and stepped forward, climbed onto the bed, and sat on Nnoitra's stomach. "Wake up. Get up. Get in your damn gigai and meet us downstairs. Breakfast is ready."

He opened his one uncovered eye. "What are we having?"

"Eggs, bacon, blueberry pancakes, and hash browns." I smiled.

"Then get off of me." Cooking works every time. Remember that, people.

After breakfast and motivating the rest of the group, we went outside for a bit, and then came back inside and sat around the TV we bought just a day before. I clicked through the channels slowly, looking through the shows that were on. "Oh, let's watch the science channel!" Szayel snatched the remote out of my hand.

"No, we're not giving you _ideas_." Harribel took the remote away. "We're watching the news."

"Oh, God no! There's a case about child abuse on! That's so horrible!" Neliel complained, and once again the remote got passed on. "We should watch a movie. 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' is on!"

"Ooh, talking squirrels! Yay. Enthusiasm." Grimmjow said sarcastically, pushing the channel button until he found Comedy Central. Then Ulquiorra took it and put it on a horror movie, which we watched for about half an hour. Violent, freaky horror movie called Victim. Neliel was clinging onto Harribel for dear life, and Harribel looked bored out of her mind. Ulquiorra was staring at the television with wide green eyes. Grimmjow laughed every time there was blood or when something jumped me. Of course, Nnoitra kept yelling at the TV asking for more gore. I sighed with relief as Nnoitra flipped the channel during a short commercial break. _Right to another horror movie too_. Halloween, I believe. Not as horrifying, but more blood splattering gore. "Oh oh oh! Ew!" I covered my eyes.

"Wow. You're supposed to be the strongest and you can't handle a little blood?" Ulquiorra remarked, and I shot him an icy glare.

"A little?" I yelled. "Holy crap!"

"Mia! Why do you let the guys control the remote?" Neliel whined, and Harribel pushed her away.

"Screw the movie. I'd take Szayel getting _ideas_ over this." Harribel took a drink of her sake, walked to the far side of the other couch, and stole the remote.

I turned away from the movie, but once I'd faced the rest of the main floor, Nnoitra turned my head back towards the movie. "You should watch the movie in turn for making me get up so early."

"'If I get gory, splattery nightmares because of you people, I'm gonna wake you all up at four in the morning, comprende?" I looked at Neliel. "Well, at least I'll wake Nnoitra and Ulquiorra up at four and send them out for groceries or something."

"Oh crap, man, change the channel now!" Nnoitra yelled to Harribel, who handed the remote to me.

"We're watching the cooking channel." I flipped the channel yet again. "No one is arguing."

"Mia, you fell asleep on the couch." Nnoitra flicked my forehead, and I opened my eyes. "You fall asleep everywhere. Park benches, in the desert, on the couch, and next thing you know, you'll fall asleep with your head in the frying pan that holds our breakfast. That's it, you're drinking coffee."

"No, I discovered awhile ago that caffeine and I don't mix well…" I laughed slightly.

"Can I run experiments on you to find out-" Nnoitra slapped his hand over Szayel's mouth.

"If he experiments on you, he gets more ideas."

"Yea, I didn't turn that around or anything." I mumbled.

"Mia!"

Tee hee, I'm such a perv.

But enough of that. It's impossible to cook when everyone else is playing _strip poker_ in the main room. Especially because Nnoitra came in every so often to tell me either "so and so lost and took off their shirt, pants, etcetera" and "so and so lost, new game starting, want to join this time?". When I asked when he was going to stop bugging me, as I was done cooking but afraid to go out there, he said he'd stop when I joined. So, I was forced into it. New game, everyone! You're all going down.

Well, let me say for the first ten minutes of the game, I was pretty terrible. All of us were in our gigai, because that pervert Grimmjow said that Harribel's hollow mask parts made the game "unfair". So far, I'd lost my gothic boots and socks, my red and black striped arm warmers, my red rose hairclip that I argued about how "it counted as clothing" and whatnot just to piss off the guys, and now I was down to my shirt. This is one of the other times bras come in handy, ladies. Remember – wear extra layers when facing four perverts and two other ladies who kick _butt_ at any sort of card game. I was freezing; apparently Szayel found the air conditioner that I never knew we had and had to make it like, 40 degrees in the house because of some experiment. I was smacking him when he was done with that experiment.

"Wow, Mia, you suck at this game!" Grimmjow's face was red as he eyed my exposed torso, and I raised my fist in a threat. He flicked his gaze away.

"You're all perverts. Neliel, why are you playing this game?" I turned to her, trying my best to cover up with my arms crossed.

"When I was invited, it was just poker. Liars." She aimed a glare at Grimmjow.

"I'm totally used to stripping, you know, cause of my tattoo placement." Harribel added helpfully, and I rolled my eyes.

There was more complicated poker stuff, then finally, Nnoitra – who had survived most of the game without taking off anything – lost the round. He threw his black shirt at Ulquiorra, the one who kicked his butt this round. I surpressed a laugh.

"Guys, you all suck at this. I'm wearing a dress!" Neliel put her feet on the table, and then put them down.

"And a sunhat, which you removed. And looks like you're wearing tights." I pointed out sharply.

"I can see the strap of your tanktop too." Harribel pointed. "And you're still wearing your shoes and those white gloves. Put on a fancier dress and I'd say that you were going to meet Queen Elizabeth or something!"

"That is the longest sentence you've ever uttered." I spoke in awe.

So our game carried on. It ended up that luck was on my side and I didn't have to strip anymore, and so, Grimmjow lost, and us ladies covered our eyes behind Neliel's sunhat. After that we all got dressed again and I _quickly_ retreated to the kitchen. _Never again._ I thought, embarrassment burning my cheeks. I'd left my gigai in my room and continued stirring the soup mix, hoping no one came in and looked at my face. "Mia!"

"Aiee!" I shrieked and fell backwards. "Harribel!"

"Aww, Mia's first time stripping!" I couldn't see her face behind her high collar, but I could see the smile in her eyes. She grabbed a sake from the fridge. "If you drink, the bad thoughts go away!" Her voice was like a song, and I waved my wooden spoon in the air in agitation.

"I'm not gonna drink! I can deal with this! I'll go watch another horror movie!" My face burned and I pushed back the door and plopped down on our couch.

"Wanna play again?" Grimmjow called from the balcony above me, and I looked up and felt my face burn again.

"Never!" I yelled dramatically, grabbing a book off the coffee table and running into the glass sunroom. _Geez, I really should consider the – _I stopped myself. _No! Who will keep the house in order if I go drink with Harribel? _I puffed out a breath I didn't know I was holding and looked out into the forest. I prayed silently. _Oakpelt, do you know where I can go to find a mate? The forest? Does my mate have to be pure cat? _

I felt Oakpelt sit on the arm of the couch and lick my hand. "You're on the right track." He said simply.

"Answer my question!" I shrieked, startling myself. I felt Oakpelt leaving my side.

"Love is love is love." He whispered before fading completely. I flipped open my book angrily. Why was it all riddles with StarClan cats? _You're on the right track._ The words echoed in my mind. _That helps, Oakpelt. Love is love is love? Did that answer my third question or not? _I threw the book on the wooden side table crossly. I had three years to live, couldn't they give me something? A hint? Four remaining lives meant nothing. They'd take them all away if I couldn't find a mate. I closed my eyes.

"No, Grimmjow! She doesn't want to talk to you!" I flicked my ears.

"Move, Nnoitra!" Grimmjow yelled.

I whipped my head towards the door as it opened, and Nnoitra dashed inside and slammed and locked the door behind him. "Harribel's gonna get him drunk, he'll forget about the game."

"You really don't have to protect me; I deal with perverts on a regular basis." I reminded him. "Remember that retard transfer student? Harribel punched him."

"If you're alright, then why is your face red?" Nnoitra sat down on the white couch next to me. I didn't say anything. "See? You're scared for life."

"I am not!" I protested, slapping my tail against the cushions. "I'm over that. I'm just agitated." I faced the opposite glass wall. "You know, I've got three years and all Oakpelt tells me is 'I'm on track'." I never told anyone my real mission, and after today, I wouldn't consider it.

"Weren't you supposed to search for something? Try the forest or the mansion or dive to the bottom of the pool or whatever. If you're on the right track, then keep doing what you're doing now." Nnoitra stood up, patted my head, and walked out. I would've been sarcastic and told him that, yea, I figured that part out, but he wasn't being annoying this time, and ruining that would throw me to the top of the stress-ometer. This was the one time I felt that instead of being more of a leader towards him, that we actually had some friendly connections instead of me being the alpha. I purred and then rested my head in my hand.

"The point of me giving you advice," Nnoitra came back in and shut the door, "was for you to get off your butt and show your face."

"I'm content here." I replied, amusement filling the air around me. "You can leave at any time."

"Actually, you don't want to be out there." Nnoitra informed. I pricked my ears and caught Harribel yelling something about getting wasted and then had to flatten my ears against my head when Grimmjow yelled something I didn't care about back to her. "That's why I came back in. Szayel is in his lab and Ulquiorra is in his room. It's only Harribel, Grimmjow, and that witch."

"I know you've never liked Neliel," I commented, "but you should consider being nice to her. She has a name. And anyway, it's warm in here, so why would I go out when its freezing in there, and why would I want my eardrums to burst from their screaming?"

"Yes, the heat and quiet is something to enjoy." Nnoitra spread his arms across the back of the couch; I flicked my tail as his hand passed my neck. "You look uncomfortable, want me to move?"

Nnoitra began to get up, but I stopped him. "No, it's alright." He sunk back down, and I was grateful for his company. "When did you care about my feelings?" I pressed.

He blinked. "Um, since always, but I'm more of a friend today because you are acting all emo. Like Ulquiorra." There was a long pause, and with every movement of my tail, the bells rang out in song until Nnoitra said, "They say when a cat twitches her tail too much she's irritated. What's up?"

"The sky." I was surprised to hear a sarcastic edge to my voice. "Sorry, and, ya know, the mission."

"Nah, Grimmjow is still upsetting you. Go drink." I pressed my ears against my head. "Can't you erase your own memories or something?"

"If I could I would, Nnoitra." I mumbled half to myself.

Nnoitra got up and grabbed my hand. I couldn't tell if my face was burning or not; I wasn't used to his touch. "Get out there." He yanked me off the couch; I rolled on the floor.

"No." I moaned.

Nnoitra dragged me across the carpet. "You're gonna get rugburned if you don't get out there."

I stood up and yanked my arm from his grip. "Fine then." I opened the door and stepped out. _Kay, well, they all seem fine._ I thought as Harribel waved at me, and Neliel looked up from her book. Grimmjow was passed out on the floor. I blinked and walked across the room, opening the door and walking into the cool evening air. "Okay, now to find a mate." I whispered, transforming into my cat form and padding into the forest.

"Rainstar, how long are you going to be gone?" Bluefrost whispered in my ear, and when I looked she was walking next to me. "Tommorrow is Christmas, and your friends want you to be there."

"Yes, I got them gift cards so they can buy what they want." I replied, jumping up onto a tree branch.

"You bought that new dress too." Oakpelt added in, nudging my ear with his muzzle. "You're on track, like I said. Use those three years to build an oncoming relationship." The two cats dissapeared from my side, and I turned and walked back to the house.

"Why do StarClan cats know everything?" I asked myself with amusement. "I don't see a relationship anytime soon."

_This dress looked better in the store._ I thought, tracing the white fur with my fingers. There was nothing wrong with it, besides the fact that if I sat down everyone would see up my dress. It was red with a black belt stiched around the waist and lined with white fur. Sleeveless and breezy. Yup, I was screwed. I looked sexy, but I was still screwed.

"OMG Mia, Merry Chirstmas!" Neliel ran into my room and threw her arms around me. "Mia, you look so pretty!"

"I feel like a –"

"Come on!" Neliel pushed me out of my room.

"Good morning!" Nnoitra called as I walked down the stairs. "I'm up today!"

I smiled and nearly tripped over my own feet. "Stupid heels." I mumbled in embarassment.

"Graceful. Like a swan." Ulquiorra commented; I rolled my eyes and continued down the last steps. _Everyone clap – I made it in one piece! _I thought smugly. I passed out the gift cards and sat in a chair at the table, crossing my legs. _God, I hope no one is looking._ I thought as they sat around me, each holding a wrapped box.

"Choose someone." Neliel said, and since I didn't know what was going on, I chose her. Yet again, she threw her arms around my neck. "Merry Christmas! Open it!"

I tore apart the paper and then said, "Aww, Nel, you got me a box!" Then I peeled away the packaging tape and was greeted by three large books. "Thanks." I said. "Wait, did you all get me something? I would've gotten you guys something better if I'd known."

"Nah, don't bother." Szayel slid his gift over to me.

"A giftcard!" I put the top back on the little box. Then Ulquiorra slid over a bag with that paper stuff in it, and when I ripped out the red paper, I was surprized to see some pretty cliché, girly stuff. Perfume, lotions, _lip gloss_; I wanted to gawk at the fact that there was _glitter_ in the bag, but I didn't. I'd use it for something. Maybe.

"I ordered that online." Ulquiorra clarrified.

Then Grimmjow – who still looked a little drunk – got me a little plush cat that looked like Oakpelt, and I wanted to sit down and bawl, which I would save for later, if I remembered. Harribel slid over a large, sparkly blue bag and I peeked inside. "Harribel, I'm not openeing this in front of _them._" I hissed the last word.

"You'll need it one day." Harribel shrugged. My face burned.

Nnoitra led me outside for his gift, and at first, I saw nothing. Then there was a little white wolf greeting me. "Okay, where did you get a trained wolf?"

"I found it in the forest. The thing followed me home." He explained; I reached down and pet the little pup. A jolt went through me, and then suddenly the pup ran away.

"Aww, your gift Is running off!" Neliel said, patting my back.

"Oh, it's alright. It's wild, needs to run free." I sighed. "But thank you, it was a very cute present." I walked inside and up to my room, closing the door. I pulled Harribel's gift out of the bag. _I cannot believe she got me lingerie. What was she thinking?_ I eyed the slightly transparent pink silk dress that had white fur lining the edges. _And a corset. I'll wear that, but seriously? My God._ I put everything back in the bag and hid it under my bed.

"No hablo español!" I yelled at the TV when Szayel accidentally put on the Spanish channel.

"Stop screaming!" Neliel shouted in amusement.

"Holy cow people!" Grimmjow screamed back.

"You guys, chill out." Ulquiorra said, that stupid fun-killer.

"I'm gonna go chill out in the sunroom. Szayel," I flicked my gaze to him, "still has it freezing in here." I got up and stepped into the sunroom. I sat on the couch facing the door and picked up my book, flipping through the pages. I hadn't actually been paying attention to it, so I restarted it. Well, I tried, because Nnoitra came in and sat next to me. "Stalker…" I hissed, hiding my face behind my book.

Nnoitra pushed down the book and looked me in the eye. "Get up and do something. You cannot hide here forever."

I lowered my ears submissively. "How do you always know what I'm really doing?"

"Cos I know you."

I put the book on the glass table in front of me and stood up. "Well, I'm going out for awhile." I knew what was coming next, and sighing, I said, "You don't need your gigai." Then I walked inside and out the front door. Note to self: put door in sunroom. We walked for awhile, not saying anything. Then we went back, got our gigai because I wanted to look human, and now I was walking around in the corset Harribel got me. The one question that was buzzing in my head: Why was Nnoitra acting so _weird?_ What drug did Harribel give him? Great. I'd have to go home and check to see if there was crack in her drawers. I began to cross the street; amazingly it was clear during this time of day.

"Mia, look out!" Nnoitra yelled as a car came speeding down the street. I looked to my right and gasped, trying to run out of the way. I felt my side connect with the hot metal of the car, and then it went black.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six- Paranoia**_

I saw my body below me; I was crippled, my eyes still open and hardly glazed over as I lost another life. I was in my cat form; that was my true spirit. Because of a stupid driver, I had blood leaking from my mouth and cuts all over my body. "Holy crap." Nnoitra kept repeating, sitting besides my body.

"Augh! I'm gonna go down there and punch that driver!" I hissed, my neck fur bristling.

"Come on, Rainstar." Bluefrost nudged me. "You gotta wait a bit."

"Will you tell me why Nnoitra is stalking me?" I mewed suddenly. I should stop yelling what I'm thinking.

"You want to know?" Carmeltail appeared by my side.

I blinked. "Why not?"

"I don't know how you'll feel about that answer." Carmeltail looked at his tabby paws.

"Does he not trust me on my own? Or think I'm crazy?" I sat down.

"No, that's not it." Bluefrost licked my muzzle. "But we're not gonna tell you until later." When I opened my jaws to speak, she cut me off. "You've gotta go back."

I jumped down from the sky and into my body. I blinked a couple times as my vision cleared up. Then I sat up in a rush. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Just a little winded!" I stood up quickly, nearly falling over from blood loss. My face turned red as Nnoitra threw his hands around my waist and caught me. "I'm really fine." I walked to the other side of the street confidently, ignoring the shakyness. The driver shrugged and got back in his car before driving away.

"Your face is red." Nnoitra said as we neared the park.

"Blood loss." I replied calmly, hoping that's what it really was.

"Learn something from Szayel – your face wouldn't be red from blood loss. You'd be whiter than you are." He explained knowingly as I sat on a bench.

"I'm not that white!" I countered, preparing to change the subject. "You're as white as me. Anyway, I lost another life. I spoke with some Clanmates, but they wouldn't tell me anything."

"They like to make your life hard." Nnoitra remarked, flicking one of my cat ears.

"Why do you flick me?" I asked, playfully brushing my tail over his nose.

"For the same reason that you flick your tail across my face."

"Ah, so there is no reason!" I purred. A breeze swept over me and I crossed my arms under the chill.

"Why don't we go home? Don't get hit by a car on your way back."

"My God, Mia!" Harribel crossed her arms as I walked into the main room. I explained how I got hit by a car. "Wow. A car. How fast was that driver going?"

"Psh, like, two hundred fifty." I exaggerated, dragging my tired limbs upstairs. "Ugh, this stress is eating me alive." I flopped onto my bed, my gigai sitting behind the raised wooden frame. I stood up and took the ribbons out of my hair and started combing through it.

"Ah ha!" Nnoitra stood in the door way, and I shrieked in surprize. "You're stressed out!"

"Will you please just leave me alone?" I mumbled irritably.

I turned back to my reflection in the mirror and let my long hair fall around my shoulders. Nnoitra wrapped his arms around me; my face turned red again. "Don't let it get to you." He said, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

"Oh my God." I whispered, curling up under the sheets of my bed. "What was that?"

"I want to know now!" I yelled at Bluefrost. I was dreaming, but us leader cats had a special connection. Odd, yes, but totally awesome.

"Okay, we'll tell you." Carmeltail said for his sister. "He loves you. He loves you a lot."

I lay down in StarClan's grassy field. "That… you're… this is for real, right?" When Bluefrost nodded, I slapped my paws over my head. "How am I supposed to show my face around him again?"

"Aww, love is hard." Oakpelt licked my ear. "Remember when I confessed to you when we were young warriors?" I nodded and if it was physically possible for a cat to smile, I would've. And that's about when I woke up.

_Okay, maybe I should listen to my Clanmates._ I thought to myself, staring at the texture on the ceiiling and seeing no images within the pattern. _I guess I needed to know. It's good to know someone… likes me… but I'm not sure. I'll have to wait and see. Maybe I'll just forget about it and try to read that book._

"But then again, maybe I won't." I spoke aloud as I sat up and went to tie up my hair. It was a little past midnight, by my clock. I opened my window and opened my wings, flying above the trees. I flew for awhile and eventually halted and landed on the roof of one building. The cool night air felt good on my skin, and I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "Maybe there are some hollows I can smash…" I whispered to myself, lowering my cat ears against a breeze.

"Oh, good! Mia is home!" Neliel said. They were all sitting on the floor of the main room. I smiled and sat down next to Szayel. When I looked again, Nnoitra wasn't there, and I felt a spark of – was that _sadness_? I shook my head. I'd be sad if any one of them were gone. Especially Neliel, because she was the least crazy of all of them. "I don't really care about this, but Nnoitra isn't here. At all."

"Not at all?" I asked, figuring he would at least be outside.

"Does she have to repeat herself?" Ulquiorra crossed his arms.

I sighed. "Well, I'll go find him. I was out all night anyway, and I guess it wouldn't hurt to get more fresh air."

_Alright. I've checked this whole forest. Where is he?_ I sighed and stopped at the edge of the forest before the mountains. _I doubt he'd be up there…_ I turned back and raced across the length of the dense trees and stopped before the road spread out in front of me. _No cars._ I thought, but just to be safe, I flew over the road. I don't know why I didn't think of bird's-eye-view in the first place. Even this high, and with my enhanced kitty-vision, I didn't spot him. I landed near Ichigo's front door and walked inside. Screw doorbells. "Uh, hey Mia. What's up?" It looked like he and Rukia were just leaving.

"Sorry to intrude. Have either of you seen Nnoitra? No one knows where he went." I flicked my ears as Ichigo's dad appeared around the corner. Ichigo's whole family was able to see me, but luckily his sisters had no idea what I was. I silently sighed with relief.

"No, but ask Uryu, because he's a master at tracing spiritual pressure." Rukia suggested. I nodded and headed out, taking to the sky again.

"Uryu! Open. Your. Door!" I got irritated and kicked it off it's hinges.

"What the – Mia!" Oops. Maybe I should be more paitent.

"Sorry! I'll fix it in a sec, but have you seen and/or sensed Nnoitra at all?" He shook his head, and I mumbled curse words as I "forgot" to fix the door and jumped into the air again. "Where is he?" Something hit me, and I shakily kept airborne as I figured out it was the area Shinigami who I didn't care about. He didn't get the memo, did he? I slapped him with my wing, which knocked him out, surprisingly, and I laughed to myself before flying away. I flew everywere. The park, the forest, I even flew above the mountains and stopped in every cave. It was really late, and I hoped the house didn't burn down as I ducked in the cave overlooking a pack of wolves. I sighed. I really loved wolves. I noticed the little pup I got a few days earlier, and then I flew out of the cave and crawled into another overlooking the house. It wasn't on fire. Or already burned. I started humming to myself when I felt a burst of spiritual pressure.

"Mia! Holy crap woman, where have you been?" Nnoitra burst into the cave; I lept back several feet in shock.

"Me? Where were you? Everyone said you'd been gone for hours!" I yelled furiously.

"I went to get doughnuts! I was hungry and Krispy Crème was open."

"You had me scared to death!" We both yelled, throwing our arms around each other. When I realized what I was doing, I yanked myself away. _What was that? What am I doing?_ I brushed my tail across the hard stone. "Did you save any doughnuts for me?" I asked, trying to forget what I did, red-faced.

"If the others didn't eat them, then yes." Nnoitra said as we walked back to the house.

_Okay, well, we're home._ I thought as I ran up the stairs to my room. _I'd better hug everyone just to be sure I don't get asked on a date._ I cringed at the thought of Szayel injecting me with something while I passed a hug to him. _On second thought, it'd be safer to just ignore this day. Maybe I'll plant some flowers outisde the sunroom tommorow. _I flicked my gaze towards the rows of flower seeds just waiting in their packages. _Maybe Neliel will help me out._ Sighing, I curled up in bed for the night.

"Okay, good morning!" I yelled, walking downstairs to see the group still waking up. "Who wants to help me garden?"

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow went back upstairs and I heard their doors slam. Harribel simply said, "I'm going back to bed too." And then walked upstairs and slammed her door also. Szayel walked back to his lab, but on the way he asked if he could experiment on the flowers, and I lied and told him maybe next time. It wasn't gonna happen, in my book. Neliel looked excited. "If you're going to garden, can I cook today? Pleaaase?"

I nodded and she skipped off to the kitchen happily. "I'll help you." Nnoitra offered, surprize surprize. I took the offer so not to be rude, but I shocked myself. I didn't know what was wrong with me, and then the song "Miss Independent" popped into my head. I shook my head and hissed to myself, then laughed as I got a questiong glance from Nnoitra. "It's nothing, Oakpelt is blabbering to me and I surprizingly don't want to hear it now." I lied, praying Oakpelt understood.

I dug yet another little hole in the dirt and dropped a seed inside, patting dirt over the hole. "I like plants." I admitted. "I never told anyone what a tree hugger I am." I lie in the grass and rolled on my back. "I don't have a way to make plants grow any faster. I'd ask Szayel, but I feel he'll kill 'em instead."

"I didn't think you liked dirt." Nnoitra remarked, brushing dust off his gigai's jeans.

"I don't like the dirt, I like the plants and the animals." I purred. "Like, if I was also a wolf, and a lepoard, and a zebra…"

"Really, a zebra?"

"Well, okay. Maybe we'll stick with the wolves and big cats." I chuckled and sat up. "Well, we're done gardening. I think…" I paused and stood up. "I think I'll go visit my old camp."

"You sound sad." Nnoitra noted, and I couldn't roll my eyes as I remembered how my kit died in front of me. My cheeks felt wet suddenly, and I realized I was crying. "Whoa, hey, what the hell?"

I flicked away the droplets. "This is so lame, I'm sorry." My mind snapped back into place as I felt his electric touch on my shoulder, and if my lips hadn't been pushed together just then I would've gasped in shock.

"I've seen plenty of your emotions, but I've never seen someone like you break down like this." He flicked my cat ear. "Perk up."

I blinked a few times, and then – this surprized me – I lashed out and threw my arms around his neck. Okay. Time to google this crap. I ignored my urge to pull away and hugged him tighter. "Thank you." I whispered.

"Mia, I didn't do anything." Okay, wayta ruin the sweet moment.

"You cheered me up." I pulled back but still kept a grip around his neck, and let him still hold my hips. I turned and faced the sunroom wall. Neliel was looking up from her book, wide-eyed as if we just made out in front of her (and at that thought, I pulled away and recollected my resolve). I sent her a sharp gaze warning her if she spread that around I'd kill her, and luckily she nervously flipped back to her book. "Okay, well… I don't wanna visit until nighttime. Let's go buy a computer!"

PC, Mac, really huge laptop… what was the difference? I sighed. We were getting the PC so people wouldn't steal it and hide in their bedrooms with it. Yup, I've decided. I passed the man the credit card I stole (er…borrowed, and I go by Elaine Green because of it) and then walked out, effortlessly holding the large box over my head. "To the house! Onward!"

I stomped in the door enthusiastically. "I got us technology!" I yelled, punching the air with my free hand. "Some dude will install it later, so I'll be the only one in my gigai." I explained as everyone erupted from their rooms, outside, the sunroom, etcetera. Neliel waved me over and we walked upstairs to her room.

"So, I discovered that when Harribel asks to help cook – don't let her." Neliel explained how she attempted to make french toast but ended up burning it instead. I sighed. Maybe I'd teach Harribel everything she needed to learn. We continued on about how Grimmjow got drunk (I wasn't gone that long, so what the heck?) and Ulquiorra nearly pushed him off the balcony. "Now, for the seriousness. What was _that_?"

I blinked and told the whole story. "Yea, I've had an odd day. Friends comfort each other, don't they?"

Neliel pushed her palm to her forehead. "Okay, Mia." She sighed. "Did you not see the way he looked at you?"

I began building up my lies. "No. In what way?"

"In a passionate, loving way."

"Nope, I didn't see it."

"Alright. I know you. I can tell you're lying. Talk; I won't tell anyone." Neliel crossed her arms, and I started spilling from the part where Carmeltail delivered the news. "Holy sh – I mean crap."

"No. Telling. Anyone. Nnoitra doesn't realize I know." I puffed.

"Luckily these doors are soundproof." Neliel smiled. I sighed and then got up and walked away. I had to wonder what she thought of that. I wished that I could read minds desperately, but I also wish I never knew. It would've been so much easier.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven- Love?**_

__Nnoitra loved her.

He loved her eyes, the way she did her hair every morning, he loved the way she didn't care – or at least, seemed not to. He loved the way she was too shy to _strip_ in front of people. He especially loved it when she brushed her tail across his face and when she cooked for everyone. But he hated it when she kept trying to hide things that were bugging her.

"Hey, Mia," He said, walking into the kitchen. "We're playing strip poker, do you wanna play too?"

Mia rolled her aqua eyes at him. "No, I'm cooking." She stirred the liquid in the pot a few times and added some herb to it. He came back every so often to ask her to join. Finally she came because she was irritated, but she didn't look happy about losing the first few rounds. _She's got a nice body, _Nnoitra shoved the thought away. _No, she'd kill me if she was reading my mind now._

Mia looked like she was freezing to death because Szayel had found the air conditioner control. He looked at Grimmjow, who was staring at her with wide eyes. Mia shot Grimmjow glares often and she looked ready to leap across the table and beat him half to death. "Wow, Mia, you suck at this game!" Grimmjow eyed her again, and Nnoitra held his head in his hand passively.

"You're all perverts. Neliel, why are you playing this game?" Mia turned and faced Neliel as she tried to cover herself with her arms.

"When I was invited, it was just poker. Liars." She aimed a glare at Grimmjow.

"I'm totally used to stripping, you know, cause of my tattoo placement." Harribel added, and he caught Mia roll her eyes.

Then Nnoitra lost the round and took of his shirt and threw it at Ulquiorra, who'd beaten him. He hoped that Mia kept stealing glances at his muscular torso, but she was preoccupied mumbling curses at Grimmjow. "Guys, you all suck at this. I'm wearing a dress!" Neliel put her feet on the table, and then put them down.

"And a sunhat, which you removed. And looks like you're wearing tights." Mia faced her.

"I can see the strap of your tanktop too." Harribel pointed. "And you're still wearing your shoes and those white gloves. Put on a fancier dress and I'd say that you were going to meet Queen Elizabeth or something!"

"That is the longest sentence you've ever uttered." Mia gasped.

As the game carried on, Grimmjow lost, and Harribel, Neliel and Mia retreated behind Neliel's sunhat. Then Mia went upstairs and came back down, out of her gigai, and ran into the kitchen red-faced. Harribel followed her after putting her own gigai away. After a couple minutes Mia flopped on the couch and flipped to a horror movie. Grimmjow peeked over the balcony. "Wanna play again?"

"Never!" Mia shrieked, her face glowing red again as she snatched her book off the table and ran into the sunroom. _She's so shaken by this. I shouldn't of bugged her._

Nnoitra got up and walked to the sunroom door before Grimmjow tried to push past. "Lemme talk to Mia."

"No, Grimmjow. She doesn't want to talk to you." He raised his voice, hoping the weaker Espada would back down.

"I'll get him drunk or something. Come, Grimmjow, I've got all kinds of sake." Harribel pushed him towards the kitchen door and Nnoitra ran in and slammed the door, locking it.

Mia looked up from her book curiously, flicking her brown cat ears. "Harribel's gonna get him drunk."

"You really don't have to protect me; I deal with perverts on a regular basis." Mia pointed out. "Remember that retard transfer student? Harribel punched him."

"If you're alright, then why is your face red?" Nnoitra sat down on the white couch next to her, and when she didn't reply, he said, "See? You're scarred for life."

"I am not!" Mia protested, slapping her belled tail against the cushions. "I'm over that. I'm just agitated." She faced the opposite glass wall. "You know, I've got three years and all Oakpelt tells me is 'I'm on track'." He could sense she wasn't telling him something, but he didn't pressure her.

"Weren't you supposed to search for something? Try the forest or the mansion or dive to the bottom of the pool or whatever. If you're on the right track, then keep doing what you're doing now." He stood up, patted Mia's head, and walked out. _Maybe she'll come out of that room. The house will get destroyed. _He looked at Grimmjow, who was running away from Harribel even though she could kick his butt.

"The point of me giving you advice," Nnoitra came back in and shut the door, "was for you to get off your butt and show your face."

"I'm content here." Mia replied in amusement. "You can leave at any time."

"Actually, you don't want to be out there." Nnoitra informed. Mia pricked her ears as she listened to the yelling outside. "That's why I came back in. Szayel is in his lab and Ulquiorra is in his room. It's only Harribel, Grimmjow, and that witch."

"I know you've never liked Neliel," Mia put her book down, "but you should consider being nice to her. She has a name. And anyway, it's warm in here, so why would I go out when its freezing in there, and why would I want my eardrums to burst from their screaming?"

"Yes, the heat and quiet is something to enjoy." He spread his arms on the back of the couch, trying to study her reaction, but she simply flicked her tail. "You look uncomfortable, want me to move?"

He began to get up, but she stopped him. "No, it's alright." He sunk back down. "When did you care about my feelings?"

He wanted to say "always, because I love you", but he blinked instead and came up with something else.. "Um, since always, but I'm more of a friend today because you are acting all emo. Like Ulquiorra." Mia kept moving her tail and every time she did the bells made little noises. "They say when a cat twitches her tail too much she's irritated. What's up?"

"The sky." She sounded upset and sarcastic, and he resisted the urge to wrap his arms around her. "Sorry, and, ya know, the mission."

"Nah, Grimmjow is still upsetting you. Go drink." Mia pressed her ears against my head. "Can't you erase your own memories or something?"

"If I could I would, Nnoitra." Mia whispered.

Nnoitra got up and grabbed her hand. Slight redness appeared on her cheeks. "Get out there." With one tug she rolled on the floor, looking up at him.

"No." She moaned.

Nnoitra dragged her across the carpet. "You're gonna get rugburned if you don't get out there."

She stood reluctantly and took her arm back. "Fine then." She walked out, and he only caught her shifting forms and running out the door that Neliel held open for her.

It was Christmas morning. Mia was taking forever to get ready, and usually she woke the rest of them up. She came downstairs in her red and white dress, falling over her own feet as Neliel followed her. "Good morning! I'm up today!" Nnoitra called, and he glowed at her smile before she tripped again. "Graceful. Like a swan." Ulquiorra commented.

Everyone sat around the table near her, holding a box. Except for himself. His gift was so much better. She refused to open Harribel's gift in front of them. _What did Harribel get her? _Finally, he got to lead her outside to the little wolf pup waiting for her. Eventually it ran away, and she didn't go after it. _Mia respects nature too much._

There was a lot of screaming going on as Mia spoke some Spanish he didn't understand when Szayel put the channel on the Spanish Channel. Ulquiorra was the one who broke the screaming up, and then Mia once again retreated to the sunroom. When he followed her, she hissed, "Stalker."

He walked over to her and pushed the book out of her face. "You can't hide in here forever."

"How do you know what I'm doing?"

"Cos I know you."

They'd gone for a walk. In their gigai after Mia said they needed them. He guessed the corset came from Harribel. Mia crossed the street, and it was clear for being this time of day. That was just too odd. "Mia, look out!" He called as a car came blazing out of no where and hit her. He saw the vauge outline of her cat spirit leave her body as he dropped down by her side. _Idiot driver. She's losing another life! _

Mia blinked a couple times. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Just a little winded!" She stood up quickly, nearly falling over from blood loss. Nnoitra threw his arms out and caught her around the waist as she stood again. "I'm really fine." Mia walked to the other side of the street confidently. The driver shrugged and got back in his car before driving away.

"Your face is red." Nnoitra said as the two of them neared the park.

"Blood loss." Mia replied calmly.

"Learn something from Szayel – your face wouldn't be red from blood loss. You'd be whiter than you are." He explained knowingly as the two of them sat down on a bench.

"I'm not that white!" Mia lashed out. "You're as white as me. Anyway, I lost another life. I spoke with some Clanmates, but they wouldn't tell me anything."

"They like to make your life hard." Nnoitra remarked, flicking one of her cat ears.

"Why do you flick me?" Mia asked, playfully brushing her tail over his nose.

"For the same reason that you flick your tail across my face."

"Ah, so there is no reason!" Mia purred. A breeze billowed across him and she crossed her arms.

"Why don't we go home? Don't get hit by a car on your way back."

After they did get home without getting killed, Mia retreated to her room. Everyone else did too, except for Szayel, who went back to his research. Did he live in the lab or something? Nnoitra walked upstairs and heard Mia mumble something about being stressed. "Ah ha! You're stressed out!"

Mia shot up, her untied-up hair flying around her shoulders. "Will you please just leave me alone?"

_I don't want to leave you alone._ Nnoitra nearly said before stopping himself as Mia turned to her reflection in her mirror. Instead of saying what he just thought, he wrapped his arms around her and watched as she blushed. "Don't let it get to you." He said as he resisted the urge to smash his lips against hers. He walked out and shut the door. _Maybe she'll get over it all tommorrow._

"What do you mean, Mia left?" Nnoitra asked when Szayel explained it.

"She went out looking for you. She hasn't been back in forever." Neliel whined, and it took all his self control not to roll his eyes and start a fight.

It was really late. Mia was hiding somewhere. He started scaling the side of the mountain over looking their mansion. She was sitting in a cave, and he let out a burst of spiritual pressure and skid to a stop inside the cave. She jumped back several feet in surprize. "Mia! Holy crap woman, where have you been?"

"Me? Where were you? Everyone said you'd been gone for hours!" Mia raised her voice.

"I went to get doughnuts! I was hungry and Krispy Crème was open." Nnoitra lied. He really wanted to find her another pet that wouldn't run away but thought better so she wouldn't get suspisious.

"You had me scared to death!" The two both yelled, throwing their arms around each other. His heart skipped a beat, but she pulled away suddenly as if she didn't want any suspisions.

Mia seemed pretty hyperactive about starting a garden outside the sunroom. She asked if anyone wanted to help, and everyone refused. Neliel however helped with cooking. Leader's pet, she was. Mia stopped before the door and shook her head angrily suddenly, then chuckled and explained how Oakpelt was bugging her. He could tell by the way her voice wavered that she was lying. _I hate it when she thinks she can't trust me._ Nnoitra thought sourly as he followed her out the door.

"I really like plants." Mia said as she contiinued planting the little tan seeds. "I never told anyone what a tree hugger I am." Mia lie in the grass and rolled onto her back. "I don't have a way to make plants grow any faster. I'd ask Szayel, but I feel he'll kill 'em instead."

_Probably._ Nnoitra thought. "I didn't think you liked dirt." He brushed dust off his jeans.

"I don't like the dirt, I like the plants and the animals." Mia purred. "Like, if I was also a wolf, and a lepoard, and a zebra…"

"Really, a zebra?"

"Well, okay. Maybe we'll stick with the wolves and big cats." Mia sat up. "Well, we're done gardening. I think…" She stood up, and her voice softened. "I think I'll go visit my old camp."

"You sound sad." He whispered. "Whoa, hey, what the hell?" _Why is she crying? I'll never understand women._

Mia rubbed her armwarmer sleeve against her watering eyes. "This is so lame, I'm sorry." He put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"I've seen plenty of your emotions, but I've never seen someone like you break down like this." He flicked her cat ear. "Perk up."

Out of no where, Mia threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She half purred.

"Mia, I didn't do anything." He hugged her back. _I hope she doesn't pull away like last time._

"You cheered me up." Mia pulled back but still kept a grip around his neck, and he still held her hips. Neliel was looking up from her book, wide-eyed, from the sunroom. Mia yanked herself away and recollected herself. Neliel nervously flipped back to her book, and he saw Mia mouth the words, "Keep quiet."

They went out to buy a computer, and once they got back Neliel waved Mia over and the two went and talked forever in Neliel's room. Nnoitra walked upstairs and flopped backwards onto his bed. _I hate it when she lies. I also can't stand to see her upset like that. _


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8 – Info I Shouldn't Of Known**_

__I walked out of Neliel's room and heaved a long sigh. What was wrong with me? I'm not this huggy, except around Neliel, who just happens to be my best friend – and the most huggy person I've ever known. It wasn't like to me to _enjoy_ clinging to people. _Stop it. You weren't enjoying that and you know it._ I jumped off the side of the balcony and nearly landed on top of Ulquiorra. "Sorry!" I yelled before leaving.

I walked a few blocks and came to Orihime's house. When she didn't answer to the bell, I started pounding my fist against her door. "Or-i-hi-me! Open the door!" I nearly punched her in the face when the door suddenly opened.

"Oh hey, Mia." She stepped out of the way and motioned for me to sit down at the table. "Come on in!"

I nodded and sat down across from her. "It smells like meat in here."

"Yea, I just had lunch. There's plenty more, if you want some. It's spinach rice and hot dog chunks in mint ice cream." When she said that, I nearly gagged. "Can I just have the hot dog without anything else?"

"Oh yea, okay, but it won't taste as good!" Orihime got up and tossed me a package of them from the fridge. I ripped into the pack and started swallowing the meat. "So what'd you want?"

"Oh right," I swallowed my food. "Well…" I began spilling everything I told Neliel earlier. "And, I really don't want to google it and have it stuck in the history. Neliel's in charge of going through it to make sure no one is watching stuff that… perverts watch."

Orihime blinked a few times. "Oh, so your Clan delivered that news to you?" She looked lost in thought. "They know a lot, don't they?" I nodded, and she continued. "I wish they could tell me if Ichigo liked me or not…"

"I don't think Ichigo is a 'lovey' type." I pointed out. "Plus, it would be easier not knowing too. Trust me. I learned the hard way." _Thanks for letting me know so easily, StarClan. _I thought sourly.

"Maybe not. But it sounds like to me you can't get him outta your head." She winked at me. "Sounds like you love him back!"

I felt my cheeks burn. "I do not!"

"I love Ichigo, but I don't hug him when he's upset, or I'm upset." Orihime pointed out. "But believe what you will. We should have a girl's night out tomorrow! That'll get your mind off stuff. You, me, Rukia, Harribel, Tatsuki, and Nel! And Hiyori, if she'll come with."

"Maybe. But won't Lisa and Mashiro be upset if they can't come?" I thought.

"Oh yea, I forgot about them!" Orihime laughed. "Okay, I'll call Rukia and Tatsuki real quick and then we can talk to the others about it!" She whipped out her phone and dialed their numbers.

"Hey, Rukia!" I yelled when Orihime put it on speaker. "You wanna come to girl's night out tomorrow?"

"Yea, sounds fun!" Rukia's voice sounded weird through the phone, and I wondered why I didn't have one. I should get one so I can text people. So much easier.

"Okay, we'll meet at Orihime's at six, kay?"

"Alright, bye!" The phone clicked off, and then we talked to Tatsuki about coming too. After she agreed, we went down to the place where the Vizards lived. Shinji opened the door. "Ah, it's my first love, Orihime!"

Hiyori came up behind him and slapped him with her flip flop. "What do you want?"

"Girl's night out tomorrow at six. Where are Lisa and Mashiro?" I asked, looking past the two of them.

"Sounds like a break from these morons." Lisa appeared in the doorway with Mashiro following. "We're in."

"Cool, see ya then!" Orihime said as we turned and walked back to the mansion.

"The cable dude came by." Ulquiorra said as the two of us stepped inside the house.

I blinked. "Right."

"Oh, I took care of it!" Neliel smiled and came downstairs with Harribel.

"Girl's night out tomorrow at six, do you guys wanna come?" Orihime asked.

"Will there be drinks?" Harribel crossed her arms.

"Yes!" Orihime shouted excitedly.

"By drinks she means alcohol." I explained. "And maybe. I don't know."

Neliel agreed for the both of them, and I caught Harribel roll her eyes but shrug. "Alright, I'll be there." She said bluntly before walking upstairs. Orihime waved goodbye and left.

"Girl's night out?" Grimmjow asked from the couch. "Does that mean we get a guy's night out?"

"That's up to you, but do not destroy the house." I crossed my arms.

"Call Ichigo, Uryu, Renji, Shinji, and Chad." Grimmjow told me, and I raised my eyebrows. "Sorry, I'll do it. So who has their numbers?"

I walked downstairs and caught up with Nnoitra before the guys started coming inside. "We're leaving in a few minutes. See ya when I get back!"

"Yea, whatever," Nnoitra replied boredly. _Maybe he got over me? _A pang of sadness stung me. _I hope that's not true. I hope – wait, what the hell am I thinking?_ I walked away calmly.

I had prepared food for the guys, who were staying at the house, and I expected thank-yous before us ladies went to meet up at Orihime's. "So why didn't you guys invite the other Vizards?" I asked, before realizing. "Oh, right. The others aren't really party animals and Hachi wouldn't fit through the door."

"Why do you think our door is so huge?" Shinji put his feet on the table. "So who uh, made all this food?"

"Me." I raised my hand halfway up and flicked my tail in irritation. "Everyone is here before we go, right?" At their nod, we headed out.

"Hold on; I gotta check on something." I melded with the shadows and snuck under the door and quickly zoomed under the couch.

"Wanna go spy on the girls?" Grimmjow asked.

"For what reason?" Nnoitra took a bite of rice.

"For science." Szayel put in.

"Can't you read a book on female anatomy?" Renji sighed.

"God, no! I'm talking about behavioral traits, not…that." Szayel flicked a blueberry at Renji.

Nnoitra shook his head and said he didn't want to. "You'd be up for it any other time. Talk. Which one do you have a crush on?" Ichigo crossed his arms.

"None – and if I did, don't you think I'd want to spy on her?" The others nodded and I snuck out again.

"Just making sure they aren't watching…stuff." I explained as we headed out.

"That was a good movie." Rukia commented as we walked away from the theater after seeing "Inception".

"And the guys weren't here to ruin it!" Hiyori added, munching on her popcorn.

Lisa pointed to a store a little down the road. "You guys wanna stop for some magazines?"

"What you read? No." Hiyori shook her head.

Mashiro shook a box of candy. "Aww… I'm almost out!" She whined, and Tatsuki rolled her eyes.

"Well, what now?" Harribel took a drink of her sake.

"I dunno," I faced Orihime. "Why did you put ketchup on your popcorn?"

"It's good, anyone want some?" Everyone shook their heads. "Suit yourselves!

I sighed. "Well, we could go to the paintball arena."

It's gotta be the most fun thing ever when you're playing paintball with your friends, and Hiyori, Tatsuki, and Harribel are on your team. They kicked _butt._ Neliel and I kept hitting each other throughout the entire thing. It was fun, and it was midnight when we got home.

"I'm going to bed, Mia! Goodnight!" Neliel and Harribel waved and I snuck in the corner behind the TV and opened the door behind there with my spiritual pressure. I didn't realize Nnoitra was on the couch until he said, "Where does that door lead to?" It was dark in the house and he was the only one up. I faced him.

"I go in here when I want to be alone sometimes. Come see." I flicked on the lamp sitting on the floor and closed the door behind us. The room was narrow and filled with little colorful pillows. "It's really comfy because it's always around sixty-five degrees and it's covered in pillows." I lie down amoungst the silky and fuzzy mix of cushions. Nnoitra flicked off the lamp and flicked on the little nightlight in the outlet and lie beside me.

"You're right, it is comfy in here." I shifted positions and faced the wall. "You weren't upset when I spoke so coldly to you earlier, right?"

"I felt a little hurt." I admitted, not attempting to mask the emotion in my voice as I spoke. I pulled the black ribbons out of my hair and let it fall around my face.

Nnoitra took a tendril of my hair and wrapped it around his finger, then let it fall, then repeated it a few times. "Don't feel hurt; I wasn't going to arouse suspision by hugging you like usual." My cheeks burned.

"Like what Neliel looked like when I hugged you that day?" I suggested, a tiny laugh escaping my lips. _I'm glad he still loves me. _When I realized what I was thinking, I nearly gasped in shock. _What is up with me? I've no time for a relationship!_ I blinked a few times. _I'm not that busy... no! I'm too busy! I'm not romantic, and I'm not interested in Nnoitra. Stop it. I'm only acting this way because I've talked to Orihime about it. _No matter how many times I told myself that, it turned out not to be true. Our conversation carried on for a long time, and everytime there was a pause in our speaking I edged closer to him. _When is he gonna make a move? I'm waiting._

The nightlight flickered and dimmed slightly, so the corner we were in was mostly darkness. "Uh oh, the light's goin' out on us." I edged closer once again. _I wish I didn't know anything. This whole flirty thing would be so much easier! I wouldn't expect anything…_ I held in a sigh and brushed my tail over his face. "Do you want me to get more pillows or another light or something?" I began to get up before he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me down, holding me against him, and I couldn't stop my cheeks from burning. _Finally…_ I smiled to myself.

"You don't need to get up. I'm fine right here." He whispered as I rolled over to face him.

"So am I." I swear my heartbeat was stretching all the way upstairs and that Neliel would burst from her room thinking that something was going on. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and for once my tail wasn't twitching like usual.

"Comfy?" He asked, and I couldn't keep surprize away as I noticed how close we were. _Extremely…_ I didn't want to leave at all. I wished that time would stand still for us.

"Extremely," I purred. I was going to miss the warmth of his body against mine when I had to get up in the morning. I pressed my head against his chest and closed my eyes.

"Are we going to sleep here tonight?" Nnoitra whispered, and I told him yes. "Okay, goodnight, Mia."

"It's five in the morning, we should probably go back to our rooms." I whispered, untangling myself from his grip. _Thank God I have a clock in here._ "I don't want to leave."

"But do you really want them looking for us?" Nnoitra opened the door and we stepped into the dark main room. I flicked off the dying nightlight as I closed and hid the door with my spiritual pressure.

"No…" I sighed. "Let's go to our rooms before Neliel gets up early." I walked up the twisting stairs and shut my door carefully. _No one is going to know about that. _I crawled under the sheets. _No matter what._

I nearly jumped halfway out of my skin when my alarm went off at six. Then I realized we had to go back to school today, and in response, I jumped right out of bed, spraying sheets and pillows all over the floor. It wasn't long before I was in my uniform and ready. I hated that tacky outfit, but since everyone had to wear it, I guess I'd live. I guess.

I woke up everyone else, making sure they were ready before I snuck silently into Nnoitra's room. I snuck up onto the bed and sat on his stomach. "School today, and I'm setting your alarm for tomorrow!" I purred, leaning my torso down and taking the pillow that was over his face and throwing it against a wall.

"Then get off of me and I will get up." Nnoitra pushed me off, and I snuck back out.

7th hour, finally. I sighed as I put my books in my locker. _Damn, all I can think about today is –_ I pushed my palm to my forehead, heaved another sigh, and closed my locker door. "Mia? You look like a lovestruck idiot." Rukia commented from next to me. _Right, her locker is next to mine. Haha. _

"What do you mean? You all know how I'm not romantic. At all." I held my bag tighter, hoping no one would notice if the strap suddenly snapped in two.

"No, no. You look like something is bothering you." Orihime came around the corner and winked at me, unbeknownst to Rukia.

"Yea, maybe I'm just going crazy here," Rukia shrugged. "Us ladies are meeting afterschool, so you should come."

"Define 'us ladies'."

"You, me, Orihime, and Hiyori."

"Rukia?" Orihime scratched her head. "How'd you get Hiyori to come?"

Rukia opened her mouth to explain, but then the bell went off and so we had to go to our separate classes. I walked in earlier than most people and took my seat in the far corner of the room by the window. Nnoitra sat on the desk in front of me, and since the room was mostly vacant, no one was there to see my reaction.

Nnoitra lifted my chin with his index finger. "Cheer up, kitten." I flicked my ears (which were very visible in my gigai, but like the class cared). "Why so depressed – whoa, what's on the back of your neck?"

I reached my hand back and winced at the stinging. "I don't know, wounds? From what though?" I asked myself aloud.

"Yea, there are a lot of scratches. Pretty bad."

"Your deffinition?"

"Like, there's blood leaking from one." I blinked and reached my hand back again, and warm liquid greeted it. "You can't heal?"

"Not in my gigai, no. Plus, this is public." I bit my tounge as Keigo Asano walked in the room rather loudly.

"Are you guys having a secret club meeting without _me_?" He yelled, and I covered my hands over my cat ears, only to bloodstain one of them.

Nnoitra turned and sat properly in his seat, and as the class filed in, I tried to cover up my still-bleeding wound between both my hands. "Ugh, this sucks." I whispered under my breath as scarlet drops splashed down my back and on my notebook.

"Mia, is there a problem?" The teacher asked me.

"No, no problem at all, ma'am!" I kept my hands plasted against my neck and gave a sort-of dizzy smile.

Another round of scarlet fell around my fingers and hit the desk, and then I knew I was screwed. So much for not dragging attention to myself. _Thank you very much, inability to heal._ I bit my lip and removed my hands from my neck at the teacher's demand. Most of the prissy girls in the class nearly threw up, and I couldn't see behind me to see how much blood was ruining my "nice" white uniform as I got up and walked down the hall. _I'm so dizzy…_ I thought, falling into the wall sideways and hauling myself up by nearly shattering the window with my nails in an attempt to make grooves to hang onto. _Crap… where did this wound come from?_ I fell to my knees and winced as the floor connected with my bones. I tried to stand again, but I fell onto my side, my head pounding and spinning until I blacked out.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine – Admitting Truths and the Instincts of a Wolf**_

"Mia!" …Was that…my voice? "Get up!" No, that wasn't my voice. It was higher pitched and more like a song. I opened my eyes to find myself in Ameneko's forest clearing where she resided, but where she usually stood there was a girl who was an exact copy of me, only with black hair and red eyes, and her uniform was black with white stripes, a negative version of my own Arrancar wear.

I touched the back of my neck. _No wound…_ I stood up and faced the girl."My name is Maidaku. I'm the spirit of your second Ressurreccion." She pointed to the black furry ears atop her head. "As a result of that, I'm a wolf. Not a cat. By the way, chika, you have a wolf form, did you know that? You aquired it by touching that wolf pup." She put her finger to her lips. "Now you shush up about me, and I won't slash your neck again!"

"It was you?" I burst out, tapping my tail bow and attempting to draw Ameneko.

"Oh honey, you can't draw out Ameneko here." Maidaku winked. "I've set up a restriction. You can only draw Ameneko if Ameneko is here. As you can tell, she isn't. However," She waved her hand in the air and a black bow appeared under the pink one, "you can draw out your mace at any time now. The gift is yours to keep."

I tapped the black bow. A ball of darkness floated around my hand until it snapped away to reveal the mace I used in my second Ressurreccion. "Why did you do that?" I pressed, raising my voice.

"Oh, simply to bring you here. If you'd left the classroom before you got so dizzy, I could've brought your physical body into this world instead of just your spirit. Oh well." Maidaku shrugged her shoulders.

I started to snarl, but stopped myself. Maidaku held up a hand and suddenly I was transported away, back to reality. No one was around, and I shakily got to my feet. I felt my neck again and turned to look at my shirt. _No blood? What the heck?_ I sighed and walked down the hall to my locker. School was almost out and I could wait for the girls outside. I had no homework surprizingly, so I just closed the locker door and walked outside, standing by the door to wait.

After a few minutes Rukia, Orihime and Neliel came outside, and I told Neliel that there was a meeting going on and to tell the others. "Oh yea, okay! Will you get some cupcake mix while you're out? Please?" I nodded and she waited by the door for the group as the rest of us went off.

"Took you long enough to get here!" Hiyori snapped as we met up at Ichigo's house, where Rukia insisted that we meet. I ignored her comment and we walked upstairs to Ichigo's room. I flicked my ears as I heard Ichigo's little sister – Yuzu, I believe – tell her father about the fact that Ichigo had four girls in his room. Then I laughed as I heard Ichigo yell at Rukia through the locked door.

"So…you live in his closet?" Hiyori asked, raising her eyebrows.

Rukia nodded. "Yea, I have since I first came here." Her cheeks got a little red.

"Rukia…" I caked my tone with suspision. See? I'm not the only lovestruck idiot here.

"Oh, well, we're all meeting for a reason." Rukia nudged Orihime. "I've been dating Ichigo since the day after Christmas." Orihime didn't look too shocked despite having a major obsession with Ichigo.

"Orihime, you're not broken up about this?" I asked, tipping my head to the side in a cat-like manner.

"Oh, no." She smiled. "I'm dating Uryu."

I hardly could imagine Uryu being romantic, and even less for Ichigo. I turned to Hiyori. "And you?"

"Shinji." She crossed her arms.

"You, Mia?" Rukia asked me.

"No one." I stated simply, crossing my arms in denial.

Orihime spoke up. "Some one." Of the two people I'd explained this crap to, she was the one who had an idea.

"Fine!" I yelled, then lowered my voice. "I don't know if you'd call it 'dating' but… Nnoitra."

"Haha! Mia, I knew it!" Orihime hugged me. "Okay, we need a quadruple date!"

"Ichigo, come in here!" Rukia called, and Ichigo entered. "Ready to drive your sisters and dad crazy?"

I blinked. _What did she mean?_

"Hey, get off my bed!" Ichigo yelled; I sensed that Yuzu, Karin, and Ishin were outside the door listening in. "Ack! Don't do that!"

"Ichigo, why'd you do that to me?" Orihime yelled.

"Aiee! Wait, no, no, _no_!" Hiyori yelled in the most cliché, scared little girl tone. Wow, when she wanted, she could be a little kid. But most of the time, she beat up on people. Huh, odd.

"Haha, Ichigo, stop it!" I laughed like I was being tickled or something.

"Hold still, Rukia!" Ichigo yelled, aiming his yell at the door.

Ishin actually kicked down the door and walked in on Rukia sitting on the windowsill, Orihime and I on the bottom of the bed, Ichigo standing up with his hands in his pockets, and Hiyori sitting in the chair by his desk. "What? We were just playing tag." I reached out and bumped Orihime's arm. "Tag."

"You guys are perverts." Ichigo walked out, and us girls followed and walked out the front door.

"Okay, that was entertaining." I thought aloud. "Well, I gotta go to the store. See you guys!" I waved.

I ducked behind a display quickly as I saw Nnoitra enter the store. _Stalker…_ I hissed in my head, holding the shopping basket tighter. _I'm gonna end up bending this metal or something…_ I held my breath. _Why am I hiding? Maybe it's cos I admitted stuff to those three. _I flicked my tail before a bullet came flying through the window, and I jumped backwards as it narrowly avoided my face. _Now I'm being shot at too. This day is amazing! _I bitterly crossed my arms, not ducking down in fear like the other people. I walked into the area that was for employees only. You know, because if they challenged me during a shooting, I'd use 'em as a shield. Not like I needed one. It's called leaving my gigai and slashing the shooters up with Ameneko, no big deal. Nnoitra opened the door, followed me in, and closed it behind him. "Back exit?" I nodded, ditching my gigai and intrusting him with it. "Gonna go kick butt?"

"Of course, of course. And then we're going phone shopping, because I really need a mobile phone." I opened the back exit and climbed onto the low roof before tackling the one man that was there with the gun. "Meow meow!" I held him down with my foot. Apparently he could see me, but the security camera couldn't.

_"Transform, Mia! You know that wolf form will help you here!_" Maidaku called inside my head, and I could picture the grin on her face as I did transform into a black wolf and pierced the man's throat, leaving him dead and bloody, before I dashed off.

_This is my territory! _I howled to the sky outside the mansion. _No one can take it away! _

"Mia," Nnoitra held out a hand to me, and on instinct, I snapped and growled. "What...was that?"

Something clicked inside my brain and I transformed back. "Uh, I really don't know." I lied. _Maidaku! You planned this!_

_ "Oh, planned? No, no, no. I didn't plan it. You just have instincts waiting to get out." _She replied. "_Now go inside and greet your friends, dearie, because they probably miss you. Don't forget about ordering those phones, now!"_

Her pressence faded away and I was left in the quiet for a second before Ameneko began talking to me. _"Do __**not**__ use that black bow, Mia. It is only for dire circumstances, but Maidaku wants you to use it earlier so she can possess your body. Don't fall for it. Remember that. Don't let her take over. You'll lose everything special to you." _She vanished as I opened the door and walked inside.

"Uh, so Mia," Ulquiorra pointed at me. "What up with the uh, black bow?"

I pushed my palm to my forehead. "My second Resurrección has a physical form. This bow is an easier way to summon that weapon without… resurecting." I walked upstairs, the long day dragging at my limbs. I shut and locked my door and crawled into bed. "I'm so tired, and it's only about four-thirty."

"Aww, Mia, are you having a good time? Sleeping?" Maidaku had a sly grin on her face, and suddenly Ameneko's forest didn't seem so friendly. "I told you to shush about me, and you didn't!" She wrapped a single strand of loose hair around her finger, then let it fall back into place. "Now for your punishment, let's see what fits, eh?"

Ameneko stood near her. "No, Maidaku, stop it!"

"Shutup, or I'll bring out your dark form again!" Maidaku lashed out and punched Ameneko in the face before turning back to me. "Here are your options: One – I kill you here. Two – I kill you by drowning you, which sounds pretty damn fun, or three – you kill yourself!"

` "Oh, you think you are so effing funny, huh?" I shouted at my evil clone.

"Come on, Maidaku!" Ameneko yelled. "This is pointless!" She whirled to face me. "Get out of the forest! She can't get you if you wake up!"

"How in the hell am I supposed to wake up?" Okay, yes, I never have or planned to yell at Ameneko, but holy crap, I was boiling mad.

"Defend her again, and I'll _make_ you shut up, witch!" Maidaku shoved her foot brutally into Ameneko's stomach, and she coughed up blood and fell to her knees making horrific sounds, as if one kick had crushed her stomach.

"Enough of this." A lower pitched voice said, and I blinked as I saw the faint outline of another girl beside me. "You are foolish, Maidaku. When Mia dies, so will you."The girl had long white hair and had the same dress I wore in my Final Form. Her white feathered wings brushed against mine, and I backed up. "I am the spirit of your Final Form."

"Junsuina! Get out of here!" Maidaku hissed at her.

"Maidaku." Junsuina's voice hardened. "Now."

She flinched away in shock, but when I blinked I was lying awake on my bed, staring at the ceiling. It was just about four-forty. I walked downstairs warily, worried that the next time I fell asleep or closed my eyes, I'd be transported back. I looked at my tail. _White bow…_ I thought, looking at the white bow placed under the other two. No one was downstairs, or in the kitchen. I looked outside, seeing that everyone except Nnoitra were in the pool. I snuck back inside. _Why is it so warm here in the middle of friggin winter?_ I sat on the balcony railing. "Okay, so I'm going to assume this white bow is from Junsuina." I let out a breath.

The strong smell of alcohol hit me in the next second, and I rushed into Harribel's room. She was sitting on her bed in her gigai taking swigs out of a bottle of sake. I groaned. "Your room is a mess," I picked up a misplaced manga, "and you should probably clean up instead of drinking."

Harribel turned away from me. I figured I'd let her get wasted and make her clean later. I walked out onto the balcony again and then realized I should probably do the laundry. I flitted to every room and grabbed whatever laundry was lying…unsorted and _everywhere_ and ended up having to haul three large baskets to the main level. As I sifted through the piles to separate colors and whites, I realized that I needed an important element to doing the laundry – detergent. "And… I'm an idiot!"

I'd come back fifteen minutes later with two thingies of detergent, I'd done the laundry, I'd folded it, and I'd ran room to room to room delivering folded clothes. I walked into Nnoitra's room with a little bit of shock. "What the hell happened to your bed?"

"I got rid of it," Nnoitra replied, pushing two (extremely long) black couches together so that the backs formed a tall "guard rail". "I put all that crap in one of those unused rooms on the other side of the balcony and dragged these out of storage."

"Oh, yea, I meant to sell those. I was going to go with a darker theme…it didn't work," I replied, setting the neatly folded clothes on his desk, which he didn't yet throw out. "Anyway, please do not throw these on the floor before you wear them. I cannot stress this enough."

"You can sell the bed thing instead," He fixed his red and black striped sleeve and crammed the clothes into what I assumed was a dresser drawer (but I couldn't really tell). "I made room for a big television set."

I flicked my tail. "Uh, and where exactly do you plan to get it?"

Nnoitra shrugged. "A place. That sells and/or gives away TV sets."

There was no recognition or mention of our previous event… A pang of some unknown emotion stabbed me – and to be honest, I thought it was sadness – but I didn't say anything and turned to walk out. His room was (purposely) my last stop, so it's not like I had anything else to do. He grabbed my wrist before I could take another step. "Leaving already?" My heart skipped a beat. Okay, look, first time being in love (minus Oakpelt), so cut me some slack, avid romantics.

"Oh, I don't know," I replied nonchalantly even though I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. "I have to cook and clean and there's probably no way to get out of that…"

"Why don't you have Neliel take care of that and help me move stuff around?"

I let out an exasperated breath. "Why don't you move stuff and I'll clean and organize this mess?" I picked up a pizza box… why the hell did he have a pizza box hiding under his desk?

"Or, ya could tell me why you're really here." Nnoitra grabbed my hand and shut the door.

"Just to make runs, to get work done." I shrugged.

Nnoitra snorted. "My dear, you're here because of a certain reason, and it ain't that."

"Uh, 'ain't' _isn't _a word." I am a grammar Nazi. I turned to walk out. Please, God, let me get over this nervousness. Just as I put my hand on the handle, Nnoitra grabbed my ass. He grabbed my ass. "Did you just touch me?" I turned back around.

"Oh, no, that wasn't me, that was the effing desk. What do you think?" Nnoitra flopped onto his couch-bed. "So, tell me why you're really here."

"Right… well, two reasons. The first one shall be left unspoken because you know what I want," I said, and then corrected his perverted look with, "And _no, _it's not sex."

Nnoitra lie his head back down. "Good, because I sure as hell am not getting you pregnant."

"Good, because I sure as hell am not going to be a mother," I continued from where I left off. "And two, I'm thinking we should tell the other Espada about this little thing…between us."

Yet again, Nnoitra raised his head. "Okay, and after we get weird looks from Ulquiorra, Neliel squeals like a little..." He began saying many words that I probably will never, ever, _ever_ repeat, "then we get laughed at by Grimmjow and Szayel, and then Harribel gets us drunk because the night was so horrifically bad… I don't know where the fuck I'm going with this, but what I'm trying to say is, it's a bad idea."

"You seriously think it'll go that badly? I think Neliel hates you enough where she won't hug you. I think Harribel could snap out of her constantly drunk state if we shocked the sake out of her, and I'm pretty sure there is something happening with Ulquiorra, and Grimmjow is an ass and whatever sexual innuedo leaves his mouth will get him his rank-six arse kicked, and Szayel… well, we'll ignore that one." I really didn't want to argue with my as-of-last-night boyfriend about such a trivial matter. Like, really? They would find out eventually. Hello, Neliel knows everything. Everything. I need to ask her about what is up with Ulquiorra. Because, I kid you not, he was blushing when I walked in to deliver his laundry. _Blushing. _And he hurriedly shut his laptop when I walked in too, as if he didn't want me to see something.

Dear lord, don't let Ulquiorra be watching pornography in his room.

"I don't know." Nnoitra answered. Weird; he acts like he knows everything and rules the house.

"Okay, hell, I know what'll convince you." Slut powers, activate! Yes, okay, I own the power of sluttiness. I crawled on the couch-bed and sat where I shouldn't. If you don't get it, uh… ask your friend? Then I leaned down so my head was near his neck (Yes, I think I may have gotten taller! Oh, joy! Because I'm shorter than everyone except Ulquiorra). Seductively, I said, "Please, Nnoi, please? We can't hide it forever."

Just to tell you how awesome this was, his face got red the second I started tracing the side of his hip with my nail. I moved my tail side to side and purred. "Come on… and then we can…come back here…" It was working, I could tell. This, ladies and gutter-sluts (I don't judge), is how we get what we want.

"Mia…" Nnoitra tilted my head so I had to look at him. "If you don't get off of my man-parts in the next three seconds, you're going to feel something that your virgin sixteen-year-old self does not want to feel right now." I spread my wings and flew backwards.

"I am convincing, though." I winked. "You have to admit it!"

"While we forget about this and you go and call a family meeting, nice panties." And then he walked out of the room, leaving me with my hands pulling down my skirt. Note to self: When acting like a ho-bag, lengthen the skirt.

"We. Are. Having. A. Meeting! So get your lazy arses downstairs!" I shouted as I slid down the railing.

Harribel came out with a copy of a random yaoi manga in her hand. "I am at the best part!" She shouted, and she was in her gigai, and she wasn't holding a bottle of sake, and she wasn't drunk! FML.

Neliel dashed out of the kitchen. "What? What!"

"Oh my God, shut up." Nnoitra pushed his palm to his forehead.

Ulquiorra came downstairs in the next second, flipping through his iPod playlist and nearly tripping down the stairs. Then came Szayel, complaining about his damn lab work that only he gives a flying capital "F" about, and then came Grimmjow. They all sat down.

"Whaaaaaaat do you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaant?" Harribel flopped on the largest couch. "I do something besides drinking, and you inturupt it!"

"By the way, I am going to confiscate your sake. Anywho, big news!" I tried to act peppy and upbeat even though I was noticably sitting way too close to a certain someone and I was freaking out inside.

Grimmjow gave me a weird look and Ulquiorra didn't meet my gaze.

"Holy shit. Holy shit." Harribel repeated five times over. "Did you get knocked up?"

"What? Hell no!" I shouted.

"Damn!"

"Harribel!"

"We need a little slave to clean the house so everyone else can relax!" She defended.

"Why? You're the black one!" Grimmjow smirked.

"You racist little crack-smoking bastard!" Harribel shoved her foot into the lower-ranked Espada's face. "And Mia, before you smack me, I was kidding."

I snorted but continued. "I didn't get knocked up, but I'm…"

"Going to?" Szayel distractedly shook a test tube filled with a clear liquid..

"Dating Nnoitra!" I blurted, then fell backwards onto the couch.

Neliel squealed – as predicted – and hurled herself at me, choking me with her hug. "Why the hell would you do that? I'm so happy for you!"

Mixed signals from that one, I'd say. Grimmjow walked upstairs, gave me another look, looked like he needed to spread a certain rumor, then walked away. Ulquiorra quickly mumbled, "Orihime," and looked at me.

And then I cussed, very loudly. Because Orihime was so _obnoxious_. "No way!" If you don't get it, he is dating that orange-haired little idiot.

"Way." He answered.

"How in hell did that happen?" Nnoitra put his feet up on the table.

"And what happened to Uryu? I thought they were dating!" I was highly curious.

Ulquiorra let out a breath. He is not one to answer questions. "Something happened. I guarentee that, at school, she'll come screaming to you."

_God, help me… _I deffinitely don't need her screaming to me about everything that happened in five seconds. Okay, yes, she is super nice and she's my friend, but she's so obnoxious sometimes. Harribel sat up, brushed something off her cargo pants, and gave me an odd look. "Well, this is one helluva day. I'm going to… do something with my life." She walked across the room and out the back door.

Szayel, wide eyed, dropped his test tube. Nothing happened to the tile, and he cussed and said something about "sugar water". Okay, for him, that was low scale. I expected acid to melt through our _nicely cleaned_ floor.Harribel got up and said, "Hey, go get Neliel and meet in my room. I gotta show you something _awesome_ that I found on YouTube."

"So, uh, what're we watching?" Neliel asked as we all crowded around Harribel's yellow Dell brand laptop. Amazingly, all three of us, lying on our stomachs, fit on the bed.

"It's a song by Len Kagamine and Kaito," Harribel clicked play, "called 'Shota Desuyon'."

"I love those two!" I shouted. Goddamn, how I'd love to see them in concert. They never came to Karakura though.

"Ooh, Shota." Neliel cooed.

Shota is a thing that ties with yaoi, involving a young boy (Len, in this case), and an older man (Kaito). So, yes, to you non-yaoi people, this is pedophillia. After reading the lyrics (Harribel had to log into her account because the song was eighteen and older only), I swear to God, my nose was bleeding.

Neliel's face was visibly red under that damn stripe, too, and Harribel, who never, ever, _ever_ blushes, was. And I could feel it on my face too. So, we began clicking on so much yaoi stuff and started yelling, loudly, whenever there was a "sexual moment".

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Grimmjow opened the door.

I turned my head to look at him out of the corner of my eye. "Reading, watching, listening, etc, to yaoi stuff. Would you like to join us?"

Grimmjow made a face and walked out. Then we just kind of… laughed and went back to watching.

Note: When making breakfast for dinner, don't let Nnoitra get his hands on the bag of chocolate chips.

"The pancakes will not be good unless you give me the damn bag of chocolate chips!" I swung my outstretched hand behind me as I stood over the pan, greasing it yet again. We Espada have very high metabolism and very, very big appetites. And Harribel likes to complain when they get cold, so I had to keep cooking the older batches in the microwave for a few minutes.

"I am eating!" Nnoitra yelled, mouth full.

I faced him and narrowed my eyes. He handed them over, sighing, then pushed into the dining room.

"You'd think he'd learn by now," Neliel opened the door and started heating up more pancakes. "By the way, have you thought about that mission?"

It hadn't passed my mind in quite a long time now. I had three years, but still. How could that be enough time? My Clan hadn't spoken to me recently. I didn't know if I was on the right path. But how could I restore RoseClan with Nnoitra as a "mate"? If it wasn't meant to be, I should leave. I was enjoying myself. And I guess I'd rather die happy then find a "mate" who loves me completely, but who I'm not loyal to. How did Oakpelt feel about all this? I had so many questions that I'd only ask when I met my death day. "No, I haven't thought about it. I still have three years."

"Does… does Nnoitra know about this mission?" Neliel asked as she flipped pancakes.

"Yea, he knows."

"Mia, I can tell he knows the mission that you _say _you have. What about the one you _really_ have?" Neliel gave me a stern look and slid up onto the countertop. "The one where you have to restore said Clan."

I let out a nervous groan.

"You should really tell him about that."

"…I can't…" I mumbled. "I don't want to ruin something. I just... if I'm going to die, I want to die happy."

"Mia, if you die, imagine how the rest of us will feel! It's not fair for you to think you can just drop off the face of the freaking Earth and think that we'll be fine!" Harribel entered now, and was quite loud when she was on a passion moment. And then she slapped me and told me to wake up. "I think we'd all be happy if you moved but we knew you were alive! It's just better that way. Look, when you yell at me for drinking, it does piss me off, but it reminds me that you all care! So you better not die on us."

I grinned. "Well, okay. Anyone up for pranking the guys later?"

"Hand me the syrup." Harribel shoved her gloved hand in Grimmjow's face.

"I am using it."

Okay, for future reference, the girls get along with the girls and the guys… don't get along with anyone. Okay, Ulquiorra gets along fine with everyone but Grimmjow, but all the same, this house is a mad hell. And a zoo. And requires me to be active and up early every day. I'm healthy, admitedly.

Harribel took the syrup bottle, slapped Grimmjow with her free hand, and continued to dump a truckload of the sticky crap on her plate.

"So, how about, tomorrow, we all be nice to each other?" I requested.

"Okay, if you want us all to be nice, we're all playing strip poker tomorrow. All of us." Grimmjow gave the girls a look and received a harsh foot-stomp from Harribel.

"Oh, hell naw," I picked up my empty plate. "That game as scared me forever."

"We'll do what you say for a week." Ulquiorra handed me his plate as I walked around the table. "And, I guess you ladies," he rolled his eyes, "don't have to completely remove everything…"

"Define 'everything'." Neliel began fixing the tulips in the vase on our table.

"As long as we can keep our bras and panties, I'm in." I gave them my 'Don't you say otherwise' look and walked out to wash dishes.

"So, what's this prank you mentioned?" Neliel asked as I tossed them balloons to fill with water.

It was about three in the morning. Harribel had gotten up just for this. I began explaining how we'd wake everyone. Szayel was, for once, in his own room, sleeping. See, the guys never get up when I ask them to. I figured balloons were convinving. After we'd filled many, many colorful balloons, (so many we had about ten buckets full because, let's face it, a war was about to start, and for that reason we were wandering around in our swimsuits) we started going door to door, starting with Grimmjow, who deserved every balloon being fired. Especially for the rascist remark against Harribel, who I'm sure was going to get the first attack.

And she happened to have the slingshot too.

I kicked open the door and Harribel shoved past and started pelting the sleeping 6th Espada with balloons. He stirred angrily and Neliel and I went to attack the other boys. We could've used more girls in the house then. While Neliel got Ulquiorra for no freaking reason, I worked on Nnoitra, being careful to catch myself whenever the temptation to get cozy arose. _Mia, this is a fun time. It is not time for you to get all…weird…_ I reminded myself.

Then Neliel shifted to pelting Szayel as he woke because of the noise and I backflipped off the balcony. That's when an all out war broke loose and we all started… soaking everything. That was when I actually had real fun for the first time in…forever. And I loved it. The only thing that ruined it is that everyone had to clean up at the end, and it took hours. I ended up falling asleep on the couch with my head on Nnoitra's shoulder and in my dream, admitted that I did love him.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten – What Happens in the Mansion, Stays in the Mansion (Hopefully)**_

__I'd forgotten that I promised to walk to school with Rukia and Orihime. So, they come bursting into the mansion, and I'm asleep still with my head in Nnoi's lap, and not that I was complaining about that, but those two made such a squealing, fan-girl racket that Neliel burst out of the bathroom, dripping wet, in a towel with her sword drawn, thinking we were under attack. Orihime and Rukia were _too _thrilled about the scene with me and Nnoitra and both hugged me so tightly I thought my head was going to pop off. Orihime may be annoying as hell, but she's really a sweetheart. And she keeps Ulquiorra from acting like an emo vampire.

Oh, by the way, it's trend with the Espada to lick their wounds.

On our way to school, Rukia said, "You know, there is a dance on Friday! It's going to be so fun! You Espada need dates!"

Orihime piped up. "Oh, maybe Ulquiorra can go with me!"

"None of the Espada know how to dance, though. And it's not a prom, is it?" I was not going to wear a frilly, puffy, colorful dress that I would trip in. I already trip over my skirt-ribbons.

"We don't actually dance. Okay, sometimes we do," Rukia explained. "And no, it's just a formal. Nothing prissy."

I silently thanked God.

"But, we need to get Neliel, Grimmjow, Szayel, and Harribel dates." Orihime smiled. Firstly, I can only imagine Neliel in a relationship. Secondly, it'd be with Ichigo, who is taken. Thirdly – What the 'F'?

"Oh, yeah, good luck with that." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, it was just a thought."

"Oh, and Ichigo is starting a school holiday." Rukia informed. "It's 'Rebellion Day' or something stupid. The girls wear their tops unbuttoned and the guys mostly walk around with their boxers out."

"Rukia, Ichigo just wants to see your chest." I pointed out.

The black-haired Shinigami girl shrugged. "He's going to be seeing everyone's."

So, eventually, we got to school. The Espada were already informed of today's events. We were waiting outside because, even though we got up late, we were early. Don't even ask. I began unbuttoning my shirt and revealing my black lace, partially see-through bra, as well as my stomach.

"Whoa, Mia, are you a secret stripper?" Harribel raised her blonde eyebrows, then continued to reveal a less intimate, bright-ass yellow bra.

Neliel shook her head. "You two are sluts."

"Says you." I countered.

But she did continue to act like a ho with us.

Nnoitra gave me a look, gave my DD-cups a look, coughed in embarassment, and turned away. Szayel started laughing at him and fixed his glasses.

Rukia gave the guys a look. "Are you forgetting something?"

Ichigo had just caught up with us. "This is a good day." Rukia kicked him in the stomach, laughed, and walked inside. I followed. Frankly, standing outside "hanging out" like that was bothering me. When we all took our seats in class, the teacher looked rather…disturbed…by everyone's showing off.

"Button your shirts and," She stood in front of Nnoitra, "pull up your pants."

"Hell naw!" Harribel put her feet up on her desk.

"Nice panties," Keigo commented, and Harribel responded with a foot to the face.

"We could do worse," Szayel reminded her. "Our pants could be off completely."

Ulquiorra said, "Our boxers," He aimed a pasty white finger at Uryu, "or man-thongs, for example, could be off completely." Okay, yes, he did hate Uryu for breaking Orihime's heart. She giggled. She actually giggled. How ditzy.

Nnoitra proceeded with, "Mia could be in a transparent lingerie dress with nothing on underneath."

"Why is it always me?" I blurted, leaning over the desk. "You just like the thought."

"That is entirely true."

A long chorus of "Woo!" broke out around the classroom.

"Everyone has… er…" Okay, yes, she was at a loss for words here.

"Fuck you!" We Espada chorused at the same time. I opened the window. "We're out!" I stuck out my toungue and jumped out, flying back to the mansion after quickly erasing the memories of said teacher.

We were raving about that scene when we got back to the mansion. "I can't believe Mia actually said the F-word!" Grimmjow laughed as we walked into the house. I felt like I was wasted. I hadn't even drank anything, but Harribel passed around sake and said that before we played said poker game, we had to get a little wasted first. And I only had to drink half the bottle, while Harribel chugged three to get partially drunk, and everyone else had one.

"I don't understand this game!" I yelled, punching the air with both fists.

"Sake!" Harribel shouted from the other side of the table.

Grimmjow suggested that we should all fix our outfits so not to "cheat" the game.

We played for awhile before Harribel threw her shoes across the room. By now I couldn't tell if she was half-drunk or _utterly wasted._ "You know, we shouldn't have allowed shoes in this game," Nnoitra complained. "It'd go a lot faster."

Neliel groaned. "Oh, shut up. You just wanna knock up poor Mia."

I am always the victim. Always. There is not a day I've been alive where someone doesn't remark I'll get knocked up or wasted with Harribel or both. I slammed my head on the table.

"Sorry, Mia." Neliel patted my back.

"Harribel, save me some sake for after this game. I'm getting wasted after this." I brought my head up.

"Aww yeah!" She whooped.

We continued playing and no one made a snide little remark about my getting knocked up, which I can assure you, I was not planning on it. Geez, people. "Mia lost this round." Szayel jerked a thumb at me.

I took off my shoes. Then lost another round and ended up walking bare-footed to the bathroom. I splashed water in my face. _I can't believe I let myself get caught up in this again… _

Carmeltail landed on my shoulder for the first time in forever. _"Hey, Mia, when you're done here, go keep a diary of some events. Recall all you can from Hueco Mundo up to this point. You might need it. You might forget everything one day." _Then he faded. I'd learned the hard way not to doubt my Clan, however, and made a mental note to listen to my son.

I walked back downstairs and we continued playing. And before anyone knew it, we were all tied. In this case, we were all shirtless. And since it's tradition to throw your shirt across the table, we all had each other's clothing articles. Harribel slingshotted hers at Grimmjow, laughed, and then fell backwards in her chair.

"Fail!" Neliel and I chimmed together.

"Horribly." Harribel added as she got up.

And at the end of the game… I lost. "Yay, I don't have to show what I got to you people!" I lie my head on the table. Note to self: Stop playing strip poker.

"Dammit!" The guys chorused.

"Excuse me?"

They got up and dispersed the second I looked up. Nnoitra hooked a finger through my bra strap and snapped it against my shoulder. "Nice lingerie."

The lace slid down my arm as I stood. "It's not lingerie. What is with you people thinking I'm a whore?"

Harribel coughed. "Because you _act _like one?" A playful spark danced across her eyes.

I rolled my eyes and started putting back on my uniform. Probably because I didn't want to leave my gigai almost naked. "No porn in the living room!" Grimmjow called from the balcony.

"Says the number one porn watcher in the house!" Neliel challenged.

"Says the hooker who probably falls asleep with a male blowup doll!" He retorted.

"Says the man-ho who jerks off to 'Good Housekeeping'!" I had never heard such words come out of Neliel's mouth, and I had to say, I was getting a kick out of it. Harribel parted from her gigai and stretched, then began picking up the table. Strange for her, but good enough.

"Says the white-trash slut who screws Harribel with a strap on!"

Harribel snapped a corner of our fold-and-stash table, creating a rip in the table cloth. "Nuh-uh, you did _not _just call me a lesbian."

"That I did, gutterslut." Grimmjow was drawing a crowd. Szayel stood in his lab doorway, watching intently, while Ulqiuorra had stopped midway up the stairs. I was so distracted I didn't even button my shirt yet.

"I'm gonna kick your white-boy ass!" She drew her sword.

"Actually, that could be good." I said, recieveing weird looks from the rest of the group. "We could all use a sparring time! None of us have honned our skills recently. It's pathetic. Especially for fight-crazy Nnoitra." I laughed. "We'll have to do it outside, maybe in the skies we fought that one asshole in."

Harribel shrugged. "Good enough for me!" We all ditched our gigai and proceeded to our new training grounds.

"Okay, every man or woman for themselves!" I yelled, positioning my sword so it was in front of me. We all spread out in a vast circle, shooting glares and smirks and laughing until Neliel shouted, "Go!" and everyone went at each other.

Szayel came at me first, and I swung my sword so it came in front of my eyes within a second. Of course, we were all insanely fast, and since my original target was Ulquiorra he did catch me off guard. I kicked him back and turned to chase down my initial victim. When I clashed blades with the pale boy, I felt a shockwave, like something had just tazered me.

"Mia, your eyes!" He shouted as I stepped back and tried to regain my balance after a dizzy wave crashed over me. "They're red."

"And they're doing that ripple thing." Neliel pointed.

My eyes are weird. Usually, when I've got strong emotions, the turquiose color in my eyes begins to shift and replace small patches with light blue, and the light blue fades and moves and it's all awkward. Usually the ripples move fast when I'm upset and slow when I'm really happy and slower but brighter when I'm…passionate. My eyes only turn red when Maidaku tries to take over my body again, and it doesn't happen often. And they must be rippling because I'm trying to fight her off.

"Now one of her eyes is blue." I could barely make out Ulquiorra's voice over the pounding in my skull.

_"Mia!" _Maidaku cooed inside my head. _"Time to visit me! I've missed you, dearie!"_

I shrieked and sank to my knees when I felt a sharp pain on my arm. And, okay, it's not like a pain like that is going to cut me down. It's also the fact that I was clutching my head with a soundless scream while my eyes shook and my body convulsed once before it went black.

"Finally, you get your fat ass here." Maidaku sent me a glare. Okay, when Ameneko wasn't here, I hated her forest. Maidaku didn't have an area of her own, and I highly doubt Junsuina did either.

I stood up and coughed, trying to catch my breath from that mind-fight. Yes, it was that agonizing.

"You're my exact copy with darker colors and red eyes. You just called yourself a fat ass too." I retorted. And by the way, I am _not _fat. I've got big boobs and a sexier build than most women. Which means she copied me. Which means neither one of us is fat. I'm defensive, I'll admit.

"Whatever." She twirled her mace in the air, swung it at me, and one spike slightly scratched my cheek as I dodged. Great, she was trying to take over again. She brought the pitch-black weapon back to her side, stepped forward on lithe feet, and then wrapped the long chain around me. One spike embedded itself in my left thigh and I let out an agonized wail. Ameneko was still in my hands, but her power was useless here. I couldn't resurrect in her forest for some reason. I've never been able to do that; it's one of those weird things that just can't be fixed. I lifted my restrained arm and slashed at the chain, to no avail. Blood trickled down my leg and to the grass underfoot, creating a scarlet puddle. I pulled a spike off the mace and tossed it aside as I tried to pull the thing out of me. Maidaku cringed as if it was hurting her, and then I realized something: it _does _hurt the zanpakuto spirit when the zanpakuto is broken or chipped. It can be fixed but it still must hurt.

My evil copy yanked on the chain and it swirled around me as it retreated, giving me scrapes from the black metal. The spike imbedded in my leg tore through my muscles and sprayed blood as the thing traveled up the length of my body, unravling itself from me but creating a spiral of wounds all around. When the pain of the fresh wounds faded it was replaced by a numb feeling. Blood gathered at my feet and I could hardly move. Maidaku stepped forward and as my vission blurred and my hearing became fuzzy, I made out, "I'll…killing you…and you can't…" I felt dizzy again. She put her hand on my shoulder and opened another wound with her black painted nails, which is the one thing we didn't have in common. I don't paint my nails.

Just as my vission faded completely, I stabbed her above the chest with Ameneko and fell over, into a pool of my own blood. I barely caught, "…win…" escape her lips.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven – What Just Happened?**_

__Mia was on her side, lying in the sky. She looked pretty dead to Ulquiorra. Even though the girl was strong, she could still lose a life to this. Maidaku was her equal. As she lie there, he began to notice a cut appear on her cheek, then a gaping hole in her thigh.

"Damn it!" Harribel cursed, sheathing her zanpakuto swiftly. "I wish I could heal her. That wound looks purely awful."

Ulquiorra let out a breath. Mia wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Maybe he should call Orihime, but then again, she was still at school. School didn't let out for quite a few hours. She wasn't one to leave her phone on at school. He could always go get her, after all, he wasn't in his gigai, but she might make a scene. He loved her, he loved her a lot, but it just wasn't good for him to visit like this. _God, Mia, wake up! _He willed. Although he knew Grimmjow only liked her for her cooking and her willingness to do all the work (or seemed to, anyway), and that Szayel didn't give a shit most of the time, he was the one who actually cared for her wellbeing. He'd never admit it, okay, maybe to Orihime he would, but never to anyone else. His aspect of death was "emptiness", but since Mia decided to befriend him and Orihime decided she loved him, he didn't feel it matched him anymore.

_Get her out of your thoughts! _He yelled at himself.

Neliel gasped. "Look! Look! Oh my God, what is happening? Mia! Wake up!"

Nnoitra's face was just pure shock. His fingers loosened on his weapon handle for a second before the chain yanked him down partially. He picked it up, strapped it to his back again, and continued watching. The wound in Mia's thigh opened, cutting deeper to the inside of her leg and revealing the bone beneath at one point as it spiraled up her body, ripping her skirt and ripping her top partially. Not that she couldn't sew that up later, but that wasn't the point. Another wound appeared in her shoulder, she let out a dull moan, and then her blade, which was still in her grip, was soaked in blood. The sky gave beneath her and she fell, speeding up from the momentum. He wasn't good at science but he knew if she hit the ground at that speed she could very well lose a life, assuming she didn't already lose the one she was on. Maybe she'd die completely. Blood was still falling, almost suspended in the air as she kept dropping, faster and faster. And no one did a thing. They watched. A silver blur caught his eye. Her black wings were spread limply out as the thing caught her.

A beautiful, ten feet across, silver dragon. Wingless, like the ones in Chinese folklore, but without a mane. It had a silver star on it's forehead and big, gray eyes. The star had little antannae-like extensions on it that were light blue and gave off little sparkles. They curled and reminded him of a butterfly antenna, strangely. Mia's limp self landed on it's back, and he made out the shape of a rider girl, with seafoam colored hair, star headphones with the same extensions her dragon's star had, and seafoam eyes that were set in determination and kindness, but with a hard, cold side as well. Her outfit was a shawl that seemed to have no sleeves (what shawl does, anyway?) with that same antenna pattern, only thicker and more cloud-like. When she lifted her arms to steer her dragon, he could plainly see the curves of her breasts. _More sluts. _He shook his head. Her bottoms were panties with the same emblem as her "top" as well as having little wing-cloud symbols that appeared to be rubber and stuck out. Her shoes were just sandals, but again, with that repeating pattern. Ulquiorra had never seen anything like her or her dragons around. She flew into the forest, but miles from the mansion.

"Did you guys see that?" Harribel asked.

"Yeah," Ulquiorra answered. "I think she may have saved Mia's ass."

Szayel looked rather observitive. "Did you feel her spiritual power? It was fairly strong. On par with Grimmjow's, just about."

"Well, we should go." Neliel said. "We have to get that chick back."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve – The Gang**_

__"I think she's coming to, guys!"

"Good, it appears the healing has worked."

"Ameneko, what happened? I saw others up there with her. Did they beat her like this? We can never forgive them if so!"

"No, it was nothing like that." I opened my eyes to see Ameneko's bright red hair and soft brown eyes. "Mia, you're up."

"Then what happened?" Another girl stood over me, with longer red hair that was more natural. The black streaks made the color appear darker, and her eyes were blood red. She was in a pleated, armor black skirt (as in, the pleats were leather or something midevil that looked like armor) adorned with rubies on the triangular shaped ends. Her top was a strapped corset of some type with strings bringing it together. I think her hair went to her ankles, but she was sitting down, so I wasn't sure. When she stood, I was sure. _Gee, her boots are cute._ Black with red laces is always good.

"Did… who was it again…?" A platinum blonde girl in a blue dress adorned with a white butterfly brooch looked down at me with concerned blue eyes.

"Maidaku," Ameneko said, and I sat up abrubtly. "Careful, Mia, you're going to re-open those wounds. I'm not done healing."

I sighed and lie back down.

"Did Maidaku attack her or something?" The girl asked.

"I remember when she tried to join us so long ago. I bet she looks different now, than she did." The redhead reminised. "Since that girl can take the form of whatever with some switchy colors and black hair and red eyes, she probably looks like…Mia? Right?"

I nodded weakly.

"I am Itami Rose. I lead the group now." She said, flipping her red hair.

Ameneko said, "You know, Mia, I used to lead the group. It's called 'The Gang'. But then you died, and without you knowing, I found your spirit and decided that you'd be my master from now on. The same case for Maidaku and Junsuina, mind you."

I sat up again. "But I thought zanpakuto spirits take the form of their master's soul or whatever?"

"Not with this group. The group was fairly larger. I think Gamuza and Tiburon used to be a part of us before Harribel and Neliel came along. Zanpakuto choose their masters, but can take the shape of their soul if they desire. Soul Society crap is bogus, don't listen to it. But the thing is, this group is strictly female." Ameneko looked lost in thought as she closed my remaining wounds.

A woman with black cat ears and tail, wearing a worn and stitched (the stitching reminded me of Frankenstein) gray lolita styled dress, with short green hair and green eyes (why did their hair and eye colors match here? Geez…) kneeled next to me, holding a vial of something. "Drink this. You've got serious muscle damage. This should fix it."

Itami sighed when she caught my doubtful look. "It's okay. Yudokuna here specializes in poison, but she can heal as long as she has herbs to make a mixture with."

"You're lucky I got some fresh ones today." Yudokuna stuck her tongue out at her group leader and handed me the vial. "Anyway, no worries. I wouldn't try to kill you. I don't know who you are, firstly, and you know Ameneko, so I automatically know I can trust you." She smiled. I took the vile and chugged; the substance was bitter but my leg numbed immediately. "Pain gone?" I nodded. "The name's Yudokuna Koneko. I'm a Bakeneko, like you and Kamen over there."

The brown haired girl with the fairly large cat ears and brown tail that was forked like mine in my first Resurrección turned around, and then I couldn't move. Her hair flew around her shoulders. She had split ends, majorly, but it made her look wild and cool and not like a priss. "Oh, sorry!" She flicked her empty, red gaze away. "When I stare at someone directly, they freeze in place. I don't know why. It's how it is. I'm Kamen Neko, pleased to meet you, fellow Bakeneko." Her dress was tan and short with a yellow stripe going up. I could make out zipper lines within it, and a yellow bow hung limp from her neck. She flipped up her hood, which was attatched to the sleeveless dress and had spaces for her cat ears. _That _was cool. Damn, I need a hood like that. Her lipstick was a rather dark, shiny, dark-cherry red color. She was pretty but she looked cold too.

"You guys have generic names. 'Koneko' means 'kitten', right?" Yudokuna nodded. "And neko just means cat. I guess it works though. I'm Mia Calevero."

"They know your name. They all have for a long time. When I chose you, dearie, I told them your name." Ameneko said. Gee, she knew a lot more than I thought.

Two girls stood over me. They were obvious twins. One was decked out in black with tied up black hair that spiked out at the end of the ponytail like Renji's did, and the other was her copy only with white hair and a white outfit instead. Their eyes were the opposite of their colors. The girl in black said, "My name is Yin, and my sister here is Yang." Perfectly fitting.

Yang said, "So, your friends…"

"…will they be coming soon to get you?" Yin finished. I looked at Itami.

"They always do that." She said.

Kamen yelled a very loud F-bomb and sucked blood off her finger. "Yudokuna, your scythe just attacked me."

"How many freaking times have I told you _not _to touch the damn thing? It's poisoned." Yudokuna handed Kamen a leaf. "Eat it before you die." Kamen obeyed and swallowed quickly. Yudokuna's scythe blade was as green as her shiny and short hair was and the handle was jet black. A purple droplet fell off the tip of it. _Ah, so she is a poison expert. _

"I don't really know. I think so, because I can't see them in the sky anymore."

A very slutty girl with seafoam-colored hair turned and looked at me. "They aren't up there, no. They saw me when I saved you. When Ryu saved you, that is. I just steered him." She hugged the big silver dragon. "Hi, I'm Rensuta Silversky. These are my dragons. The big one is Ryu, the one who takes me places." She took a damp sponge and wiped blood (probably mine) off of his back. "The second biggest, in that tree over there," she pointed up into a treetop and I saw a smaller version of Ryu, about three feet across, sleeping in a tree, "is Shiruba, the fighter. I know she looks powerless, but she's a strong girl. They all fight, but she owns that skill. Then, the littler one around my ankle here is Sukai, and she is my spy. The tiny one on my shoulder is Nyuji, and he helped heal your wounds." Nyuji was tiny, maybe three or four inches long. "He's still a baby. I've only had him for a year."

A pink haired girl who looked about ten approached me. Her dress was like a cherry blossom and her hair was a pink variant of Miku Hatsune's. "Hi, I'm Meisu Hanako!" She had two black maces (that figured) slung over her shoulders.

"Hey, nice to meet you. You weren't here a second ago, were you, kid?" I asked.

Meisu's face turned red. "I am _not _a kid! And by the way, I saw your friends. I had Yoake, Yugure, and Yuki lead them here."

Itami put her hand on Meisu's head. "You are a kid, but you fight like no other."

Ameneko continued to introduce me to everyone. Apparently, the blue haired girl with her hair slung over one shoulder and the lacy, baby blue dress was named Korimizu. She was cleaning a snowflake staff with a blue cloth and didn't talk to me much, but said, "Hey." There was a silver-haired girl wearing black and white with light yellow flowers floating around her and in her hair named Kottan. Her eyes were cool; one was white and one was gray. She put a white rose in my hair. "It matches! Keep that. It looks pretty!" Then she gave me a huge-ass hug and we went around the group again. There was another girl with green hair, only it was forest green and had bells in it. It dropped to her bare feet. Her dress was an upturned pink lily.

"I'm Ririberu! Pleased to meet you!" She went back to talking to Kottan after that. The platinum blonde from before was Tatsumaki, and she was more angelic than "gang" material to me, but if she was part of such a group that humans might fear if they could see zanpakuto spirits, she must have been powerful. Then we came to a girl with olive (literally, pickled olive) colored skin and bright pink lips, I was a little shocked. The girl had a very odd appearance. Her black and white streaked hair was tied into short pigtails that only took part of her hair and the rest framed her head and neck. She had no shoes, mainly because her legs below her knees were covered with black feathers and she had bird talons. "I'm a devil and angel imp mixture," She explained. I was clueless. I can't help you, sorry. Her kimono was something celestial, with blues and Neliel's hair color mixed amoung stars and such and the sleeves went over taloned fingers (her arms duplicated that leg thing I just explained). On the right side of her head was a black bat wing, and on the other was a white, feathered angel wing. "I'm Tenshi Akuma." Her last name scared me. I think 'Akuma' means 'demon' or something. But she was nice. "I'm sorry, I must be intimidating you. I don't try to do this."

"No, trust me, I've seen grotesque things and you don't qualify. I actually think this is unique. I like the wings." I explained.

"Really? I can fly like this too. It's odd, but awesome."

"It sounds cool!"

Ameneko turned my attention to three girls, each wearing kimonos of different colors and being followed by dogs of their color too. My group was behind them.

"The one with the white kimono with the orange trim and orange hair is Yoake. Those are her dogs." Ameneko pointed to two white twin dogs with six orange, bushy tails. "The one with the blue kimono, blue hair, and single dog is Yugure." Her dog was blue with a swirl on it's side. "The other one died in battle awhile back. And finally, the one with the white, curly pigtails and white kimono and white, two-tailed fluffy dogs is Yuki."

So, I'd finally met all of The Gang. Took damn long enough.

Nnoitra grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss the second Ameneko went back to being a bow on my tail.

"Oh, get a fucking room!" Kamen yelled over Rensuta's, "Aw!" and Yudokuna's, "Holy shit!" I still had my eyes open, I was in such shock. Nnoitra broke away at Kamen's, "Fuck, guys, none of this bullshit here! Fuck!"

Neliel looked on. "Watch your language. You're worse than him."

Kamen laughed. "Sorry, I have problems with that."

"Glad you're alright, Mia." Harribel was grinning behind her hollow mask/collar that covered said mask, I could see it in her eyes.

"Yeah, now we won't go hungry!" Grimmjow joked, getting a kick from Harribel.

Kamen walked up to Szayel. "Dude, what up with your fucking hair color?"

Szayel shrugged. "When Mia admits what's up with hers –"

"It's naturally purple!" I yelled.

"And mine's naturally pink." Szayel shrugged.

Kamen laughed. "No, dude, it's kinda cool."

Szayel proceeded with, "I'm a scientist."

"Okay…"

"It might of turned pink through experiments."

"Okay?"

"You're lost, right?"

"Science is a lost concept to me. I don't get it, but I've always wanted to blow shit up with chemicals."

"Great, come over tomorrow at three!"

I cut them off. "Uh, if you're going to blow stuff up, do it outside, far from the mansion."

Szayel gave me an odd look through his amber eyes. "You know, Mia, I've blown up plenty of stuff in the lab. I made the walls industrial and indestructible so you wouldn't notice and so you wouldn't kill me."

I sighed. "Okay. We should probably show you guys where we live though, right? Let's get going."

After we showed The Gang where we lived, I proceeded to walk to my room. I was tired. At least my muscles were okay. I was half asleep by the time Nnoitra came in, annoyingly flicked on the lights once, flicked them off, and got under the sheets with me. _He locked the damn door, right? Harribel better not pick the lock. _That chick was an expert at lock picking, while Grimmjow was an expert at kicking doors in, and Neliel was an expert at getting people to open their doors. Well, don't bug me now, people, because I'm "busy".

And if Szayel _melted_ the door, we'd have problems.

I rolled over to face Nnoitra. "We got inturrupted earlier…" He moved his lips so close to mine I could feel his hot breath in my mouth. "Shall we pick up where we left off?" I had no time to even nod before his tongue twisted with mine. I closed my eyes. Yes, okay, on a first kiss you're not supposed to be swallowing each other, but this was our technical "second" one. He switched to being on top of me without breaking the little moment between us and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hand stroked my side while his other one held him up. I could feel my cheeks burning bright red when he pulled back to kiss my neck. I just kind of…lie there, as if I was paralyzed. I guess I overcame it as I snapped open his shirt with my nails and he slipped out of it.

I was so caught up in the heated passion that I didn't notice that Harribel _did _pick the lock until she gasped and said, "Holy shit, guys, having fun?" I pulled back and looked into the bright light from the house to see Harribel, green eyes wide, and Neliel, who was squealing because she was happy for me. Nnoitra got off of me and my face was even redder than before, I could feel it. Grimmjow walked around the corner, reminded us not to have any live action porn in the house and walked away.

Neither one of us said anything.

"You need to stop picking locks, no matter how much fun it is to watch Mia act all romantic." Neliel pushed the dark-skinned blonde away and shut the door.

Nnoitra cussed with his face in his palms and when I pulled his hands away I could see his face was just a little red. I sat on his lap and kissed his forehead. "Chill, it's okay."

He went back to sucking on my neck (Note to self: Do not tie up hair tomorrow so no one points out a future hickey) and his hand traced the inside of my leg. I stopped his arm quickly. "None of _that thing_ yet."

"Did you even notice I unzipped your top partially?"

I looked down to see half of my cleavage hanging out. "That's all you're getting for now." I purred, kissed his forehead again, and walked out, but not before making sure I was decent. And about that ripped outfit, Yudokuna is handly with needle and thread. It was like the damn outfit was good as new.

"_Did you have fun?_" Harribel shouted in my ear as I came down the stairs. "Why don't you use some of that lingerie I gave you next time?" She winked.

"Chick, I love you like a sister, but –"

Harribel ignored me and laughed, which cut me off. "I gave you that, knowing you'd need it one day! Haha, and looks like you do!" She patted my back and walked out the backdoor.

_Dear God, please save me from the idocy I'm surrounded by. I'm not religious, but please do so. _Carmeltail landed on my shoulder, and then I remembered what I was supposed to do. I walked slowly up the stairs, sighing, thinking how today was one interesting one, so far.

It was tetious and long writing down whatever the hell Carmeltail told me to. It took me three hours, and since I know I'm the only one who can read my handwriting, I had no worries about someone finding and reading the damn thing. Thankfully, I was a master at hiding things too. I'd had so many pictures of all of us goofing off and stuck the printed versions (with superglue) into the notebook. What you prissy girls call a "diary" I call a "notebook" or "journal". I walked downstairs just in time to hear the doorbell go off. We had a doorbell? Since when? Usually we don't get visitors and if so, they just open the door and invite themselves in. Szayel got off the couch, leaving his science magazine on the table, and opened the door.

"Surprise!" Kamen yelled when she stepped in with Yudokuna, Rensuta, and Itami following. She glanced around with wide eyes. "Wow, this is a fucking _incredible_ house you have! It's so fucking _white!_ And shiny! Fuck, are you guys fucking rich?"

"No offense," I started, "but I thought Kamen was coming tomorrow?"

Yudokuna shrugged. "You know, we thought so, but she was eager to come by and see the inside of the house, and so were we. So we just kind of followed."

Szayel shut the door and dragged Kamen into the lab, yelling something about, "blowing shit up".

Yudokuna was kneeling at our TV set, digging through the DVDs. "Warning, yaoi; warning, yaoi; warning, yaoi; warning…"

"Do you guys like yaoi?" I asked.

The three remaining nodded. Rensuta flipped her seafoam hair and then took one of the DVDs, read the back, and then proceeded with, "How hardcore?"

"You mock me. It's as hardcore as can get." I crossed my arms. "That one happens to be Harribel's favorite."

Itami snatched the case from the dragon-tamer girl and opened it. "Well let's watch the damn thing!"

I went to get Harribel and Neliel and at the mention of Harribel's personal favorite disc being played, they came immediately. So we all sat and watched. And it was possibly the sexiest thing I'd seen all day.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen – The New Assistant**_

Kamen shut the door behind her and was fascinated at all the twinkling computer screens and... Was that a fish attached to electrical wires? Szayel wheeled around the room in his computer chair, pressing buttons and all this crap she didn't understand.

"The fish is staring at me." Kamen looked uncomfortably to the bug-eyed fish, then to the half-dissected boar, then back at Szayel, who was facing her now.

"The fish is Grimmjow." Szayel smirked.

"What?"

"I'm kidding."

"Fuck, Szayel, give me a heart attack!" Kamen rolled her red eyes. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

Szayel busily explained a load of science while Kamen tried to understand. After five minutes, she'd managed to scribble down a bunch of math and science things she was able to understand...or something... and looked at the pink haired man for further instruction. "So, go down the street and pick up the package I ordered." He shooed her out of the room. She thought she'd be blowing stuff up, but never mind that, because she needed an intellectual skill to brag about to the group when she got back. Yudokuna was good with measurements, clearly; by the way she made that poison of hers. Rensuta was good with distance calculations, so, pretty much a math whiz. Yoake, Yugure, and Yuki were the ones who knew everything about animals, Tenshi was religiously intellectual beyond anything (she could name one hundred religions off the top of her head and explain them in-depth), and Itami was just a straight up leader… Intellect wasn't her skill. She could brag how she spoke fluent profanity, but then again, it wasn't intellectual (though it was pretty fun to see the look on Meisu's face after she threw the F-bomb at everything).

"Whoa, holy fuck, what are you guys watching?" Kamen looked at the TV. It was _very explicit _yaoi.

"Where are you going?" Itami didn't move her eyes from the screen and then her eyes went wide at the sight of a certain moment.

"Gotta pick up a package for Szayel."

"You know they won't be able to see you when you come in, right?" Mia mumbled, focused entirely on the movie.

"That is what makes it fun!" Kamen laughed. On screen, the boys were inturrupted. Yudokuna launched a fistful of popcorn at the TV.

"Cock block!" She shouted, to which Rensuta yelled, "It was getting so sexy though!"

Kamen rolled her eyes and walked out. She couldn't stand yaoi, or yuri, for that matter. It wasn't something she could watch. Why would you want to watch two men banging each other for pleasure? "Yaoi is another thing I don't get." She shook her head, wandering down the street with her hood up. When she saw the post office, she went in, hoped the counter and went into the back. "Szayel, Szayel…" _Fuck, need a last name. And there are a fucking bajillion packages in here too. _She continued along the wall and found "Szayel Apporo Granz" inscribed in cursive on the box. _Whoever wrote the name on this is a real fucking fancy son of – or daughter of – a bitch. _She took the package under her arm and ran out before any mortals saw a floating package.

When she got back to the lab, she tossed Szayel the package.

"Okay, what now?" She asked.

"Take the stomach out of that boar, will ya?" Szayel pressed some buttons on his keyboard.

Kamen gulped but walked over to the thing, swallowing back the bile that rose in her throat. She picked up the scalpel and sliced around whatever parts were around the stomach and lifted it out. Disgusted and nearly vomiting, she choked out, "Where do I put it?"

"On the tray thing." Szayel didn't look at her. She immediately placed the organ and, still fighting back the urge to run for dear life, began washing her hands, cursing silently in her mind. Dissecting things was gross. But she needed a brain. She was not going to somehow obtain a damned gigai just to attend Karakura high. She was twenty, for God's sakes! Well, okay, she'd technically "existed" for twenty years and decided that'd be her permanent age, like how Yudokuna was "nineteen" and Rensuta was "eighteen" and Itami was "twenty-three", but that wasn't the point. Mia was lucky, being permanently sixteen. And being an Espada. Despite the fact she didn't have to be very responsible, she was. _I am jealous of you, you bitch. _Kamen thought with a friendly and lighthearted tone.

"Are you awake over there?" Szayel wheeled around the room.

"Yeah, just lost in thought." Kamen waved him off. So what if she was going to be his lab assistant now? She'd still wave people off, like always. _I know the real reason Itami wanted everyone to come with me though. This place is full of men, and its Gang code not to fall in love because it hinders your ability to think straight and to be a strong woman. Mia gets to love, but she's strong already and doesn't need the constant training. Actually, we don't need it, but I guess Ameneko wanted to keep us safer by doing this. _In The Gang, love was prohibited, but reproduction would get you booted from the group. But how could a zanpakuto spirit fall in love, and how in the hell would they reproduce? _I looked up to Ameneko because she was such a strong leader, and when we all saw Mia die that night and Ameneko made her choice and put Itami in charge, Itami was the one who wouldn't bother to change those rules. Children are a fucking nuisance anyhow and they're a pain to protect, unless they can fight like Meisu can. _Kamen let out a breath. Next stop, taking out more organs of that damned boar.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen – Recurring Trend**_

It had been a month since Kamen became Szayel's lab assistant. I'd poked fun at Rensuta and Itami for having first names that were Japanese and last names that were English. My Japanese had oodles of gaps, so the two had taught me what else I needed and within that month, I was bilingual and teaching everyone else said language. After all, they needed it. And now it was easy to understand Vocaloid music! Ta-da!

Kamen had stopped coming with the other three and came alone this time, and always left around eleven thirty at night, always tired. She'd said that The Gang members can go anywhere but have to be back at camp by midnight and aren't allowed to leave again until nine. Usually she'd pop in right after school got over at three, and on weekends, she was here extra early. She was either committed, 100% to her work, or liked being around Szayel. Infatuation to a science geek seemed unlikely for her though. After all, she personally told me in the month we'd known each other, "_I don't like helping out or volunteering much, and I'm a total flunky at science, so I don't really know why I want to help out with this._" It seemed odd to me, and a little suspicious.

I burst into the lab when the two were busy. Kamen was leaning over the desk, motioning on Szayel's main touch screen computer to what looked like a data spike. I may not be top-notch in science, but I do know what a line graph is. Szayel nodded and motioned to something else, which she proceeded to write down.

"Guys!" I was excited, because we were going to have a movie night, and it wasn't a horror movie. Finally! Geez, people. I don't want to see guts splattering everywhere, and looking at the organs of a boar lying around and smelling that preservative smell was bringing me back to recent horror movies. Quickly, I finished, "We're watching Step Brothers! Movie night! Let's _go!_"

Kamen put down her clipboard and followed me out with Szayel trailing behind.

When we all sat down, I ended up close to Nnoitra with Harribel on my other side. Neliel sat in the armchair, drinking tea like usual and watching me fast forward through that legal crap. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had the second couch closest to that room that…yeah… and, per usual, were hissing empty threats at each other. Why couldn't we all just get along?

According to Szayel, it'd be boring if we did.

Is it just me, or has he been in the story quite a lot more recently?

When Kamen sat down on the third couch, Szayel sat pretty close to her, and her face grew slightly red.

_Kamen…_ I sent to her. Yes, I can perform more mind tricks than you think.

"_Mia, get out of my head." _Kamen replied, not flicking her gaze from the movie even one time.

_I just want to know something. What is going on?_

"_A movie is playing, silly one!" _Great, the chick can even sound sarcastic in her mind. _"I don't love this weird guy here, so just forget it."_

_Kamen, I sure as hell know you can't perform my mind tricks, and I also didn't ask you that question even though I know I was going to. Are you admitting something…?_

"_Hell no!" _Kamen hissed at me. I dropped the convo until Szayel twined his fingers with her own. _"Goddamn, okay, fuck you Mia." _The tone her thoughts sent to me were more of a "just kidding" than a "I mean it", but she was still upset. _"Did you know we are not allowed to love?"_

_Ameneko filled me in, so yes._

"_So you know. Are you wondering why she did that? It's because it –"_

_I know, Kamen. And if you're going to love this weird guy here, I'll help you keep it a secret. Okay?_

Kamen looked at me and her empty eyes showed thankfulness and that she was grateful for that. It's amazing what you can do for people that make them like this. After Step Brothers was over, I quickly flipped through the other pay-per-view movies.

"What are you looking for?" Harribel asked.

"That one movie, 'The Last Song'!" I yelled, taking up a stance where I was sitting on my knees with one hand holding my front up, and since I was on Nnoitra's lap, my ass was in his face.

"I'm enjoying this," he remarked, "very, very much."

I shoved my tail in his face so it covered his eye. "And now you can enjoy my tail in your eye, love."

Harribel snickered.

"Mia, I'm not watching your damned chick flicks." Grimmjow got up, Ulquiorra followed, and then Harribel walked upstairs yelling about sake.

"I'll stay for a chick flick because it's a good time to make a move during those sappy parts." It seemed his comment was directed at Szayel. Of course it was. But after I found the movie, I nearly fell asleep on the couch until Kamen tapped my shoulder, told me it was ten, and then we all went to bed, leaving those two alone in the dark. And when I came out for water a little later, they were making out on the same couch.

A loud bang on the door the next moment made me rush downstairs in my black tanktop and panties with my hair un-tied up and not brushed and probably ratty. "Open…the…door!" It sounded like a big group.

"Everyone, wake up!" I yelled. It was five in the morning. They'd be pissed, but by the panic rising from outside the door, I could feel something bad going on. I opened the door and The Gang, as well as Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, Chad, and the Vizards, besides Hachi (he wouldn't fit in the door anyhow) burst in.

"Holy shit, Mia, are you throwing a party?" Grimmjow walked downstairs in his Espada garb. Why was it that I was the only one _not _dressed? The others came downstairs and were dressed. I used Sonido and got upstairs and ready in my usual state, with my hair tied up, and my usual slutty Espada garb, and then I came back down. I'd never had so many in my house before.

"What's going on?" I asked once I sat on the back edge of the couch.

Ichigo scratched his head. "Right. You remember how Aizen died a few years ago?"

"Vividly. Ish. I was blindfolded, but continue."

"He's alive."

If I was drinking something just then, I would have choked on it. "_What do you mean?_" I shouted over the silence. "I am 1000% _positive_ we all owned his ass! What happened?"

"That's just it," Rukia proceeded. "We didn't take the Hōgyoku out of him and destroy the thing. It must have reincarnated him."

"What are we supposed to do about Karakura?" Neliel asked calmly even though her eyes showed she was freaking out.

Mashiro said, "We need to evacuate them, right?"

I sighed. "I'll do it, then."

"There's no way you can do that, Mia," Itami pushed her way through the huge crowd until she was standing in front of me. "There are hundreds of thousands, maybe almost a million, people in Karakura town. It'd take you hours to get them to safety in time. We don't know if or when he'll attack and we need to do this quickly. And we need _you_ on the front lines."

"Then who is going to get them all to safety? We need to start _now!_" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

Ameneko materialized next to me. "Mia, do you know why Maidaku attacked you that day, months ago?" I shook my head. "It was to train you more. She doesn't actually intend to take you over or anything. But she does want to make you stronger, and she realizes she'll die if you do."

Maidaku and Junsuina followed the materialization. "Dammit, Ameneko, I was having fun acting like I wanted to kick her ass!" Maidaku smirked and looked more friendly than she'd ever looked before.

"This is no time to discuss your acting, Maidaku." Junsuina chided. "And did you also know, Mia, that you have _five_ Resurreccións? Your fourth is a 'step up' from your second but more powerful than your third, and your fifth is a 'step up' from your third and the most powerful. And you may just need them."

I was pretty shocked but now was not the time to show it.

Yoake stepped forward with her dogs trailing behind. "It has been decided that –"

"The Vizards will evacuate them, since we can be seen by the humans," Shinji inturrupted. "But we're going to need help too. But Mia, you must keep a lookout."

I looked from each face of the group in my house. "Alright. I can do that."

Chad mumbled, "We have to also do something else…"

Yin and Yang finished with, "We have to expose the whole of Karakura to what we are and let them all see us. When this is over, we'll explain everything to the humans." It was truly freaky how they could speak at the same time, never missing a beat and using the same tone only with different voice pitches. Yin's was lower than Yang's was.

"So let's…" Yang began.

"…get going!" Yin finished, and everyone filed out the door.

We went to the central point in Karakura where all those public areas were, and I'd figured a lot of people would be at work and this was a good place to scare them shitless. We spread out a little bit and when I felt Itami release her spiritual pressure, I felt a wave of it emitting from everyone else as I Iet out all of mine, and then it was one blob of power. People ran out of offices and wherever else to stare at us.

I felt like I was one of those pole-dancing sluts that everyone wanted to stare at all the time.

A porn star. I felt like a porn star.

It's not a good feeling to have because I don't like the thought or appeal of being famous so much, what with everyone staring at you. Very slowly we started to subdue our spiritual pressure.

"Listen up!" I yelled to the group in front of me. "You've all got to evacuate! There is a safe place outside Karakura, and unfortunately, you've all got to walk there! The streets will be too busy! We don't have much time and all will be explained after it's safe for you to return!" I hoped to God that they'd follow.

"Ma'am, I can't just evacuate these children without their parents knowing!" Oh look, a daycare center. Yay. I get to take care of this.

"It's life or death, and I'm sure their parents would be triple pissed if you didn't listen." I remained calm. _Hurry your asses up! _

"Let's _go!"_ Tenshi commanded, slashing her taloned hands through the air. "We've got to move, and now! Don't argue!" The group started running, a few looking back with fearful glances.

"Thanks."

"Be more forceful next time. I'll keep scaring people forward. Make sure they don't divert their course." Tenshi turned and walked back down the river of scared humans. _She'll just scare people shitless while the Vizards get people out of their homes with half of The Gang and the rest of us scream at people to hurry their asses up. _I shook my head. At least the line was moving now.

After fifteen minutes, my portion of the line slowed down. "Let's move!" I yelled, slashing my sword through the air.

A siren blared and then Hiyori appeared beside me. "We found the tornado sirens!" She shouted, then dissapeared as people once again started running wildly around.

A massive spiritual pressure shook the ground and I spread my wings. I couldn't see the end of the human river yet. This was way past bad. The Espada appeared by me on cue.

"I don't have many lives left. Promise me, especially you two," I aimed two fingers at Grimmjow and Nnoitra, "that when it gets tough you'll pull back."

Ulquiorra patted my back. "Try worrying about yourself sometimes. Let's go."

Okay, for being alive again, Aizen looked half decomposed. It was really, really disgusting, especially because he had blood again but when it fell out of holes and rotten scratches it looked dried and black. I fought back the urge to throw up. This was a horror movie all over again.

"Are the Espadas who betrayed me here to help me or kill me again?"

I shot a cero from my tailtip to shut him up. Still an annoying pedophile, apparently.

"Oh, but this time, this is the real Karakura, so you can't go all out…"

"Shut yer trap!" Nnoitra launched his weapon at Aizen; it missed and he brought it back.

And then it was a blur of battle and blood and rotten Aizen parts. Ulquiorra in his second Resurrección, me in my first, and everyone else just in their only one.

"Cascada!" Harribel snarled. _Shit! She can't do that without flooding the whole town!_

"Freeze over," Below the waterfall I could barely make out Korimizu holding her snowflake staff up. A transparent ice ball rose and surrounded us, and the water gathered at a large lake below before becoming an icy battlefield. "I can only hold this thing for ten minutes. If you can't kill him in that time, at least Karakura will be evacuated." It was amazing I could hear her. Through the transparent ice I could see that her short staff handle had extended and in the center, had a round area spread out so that her hand sat through it. I could see her light blue spiritual pressure feeding the glass snowflake, which instead of half, had become whole with ornamental crystals dangling off the extrusions on the ornamental thing.

I flicked my tail, blasted a bright red cero from my forked tail, which bounced off the ice wall until Neliel absorbed it and shot it at Aizen again. It missed and blasted a hole through the ice, which Korimizu proceeded to fix. I went into my second Resurrección in preparation for my fourth one. Ameneko and Junsuina materialized once I did; I could feel their spirits next to me, and then they backed down the line. I heard a sickening crack and smelled blood, then Neliel screeched in pain. "I've got it," Ameneko mumbled as I pinpointed her location in the sphere and heard her stilletou heels click and skid across the ice.

I sighed. I was interested to see what my fourth Resurrección looked like.

"Dai dākugan'nā," I mumbled as my dress and all the black ornaments around me faded to reveal a gunwoman's cropped jacket, black gloves, black cargo pants (black was Maidaku's set color, obviously), and since the jacket was zipper-less and open, in plain sight was a black bra and most of my cleavage.

_Freakin' Maidaku. Now I'm even more of a slut._

_"Weapon mode: on!" _Maidaku called just as my right arm was enveloped in black fog. When it cleared, my arm looked like a fancy cannon-gun thing. I couldn't bend my elbow, but I could feel the ability to control the gun. _"Noise level: 0%. Power: 300%. Range: Ten kilometers." _Okay, this was some gun. I raised my arm/gun and tightened my muscles. Red, glowing cero-bullets chased the rotting enemy around the arena. The other Espada had backed up behind me but kept Aizen from leaving my line of sight. I was blasting holes in the already cracking ice. I'd landed quite a few hits on him, but not enough to hinder his movement. Eventually I had to stop firing because the gun had to recharge. The thing wasn't meant for such reckless firing.

Neliel charged Lanzador Verde and launched it across the battlefield; it stuck in the ice before she galloped up to it, yanked it out, and tried to launch the thing again. While Szayel tried to incase Aizen in one of his wings, Junsuina and Ameneko focused on fixing Ulquiorra's damaged wings, and Grimmjow launched yet another Desgarrón in his direction. I had to kneel and rest for a few minutes. I didn't want to leave it in their hands. I didn't want them to get hurt. If anyone was going to die, it should be me.

Nnoitra ran forward to attack the defective, living corpse of our former leader just as Aizen raised his sword for a powerful (decomposing, and no, I can't get my mind off of this) attack. "There is only a minute left," Korimizu sounded exhausted. I didn't notice, but with her shikai activated, her dress had grown longer and her hair was tucked behind what looked like a white snowflake clip. I didn't care if we had a minute left. I ran forward and threw myself between the two. Numb pain entered my body afterwards.

"Mia! Holy fuck, woman!" The ice shield shattered at Nnoitra's words. My gun faded but I remained in my gunner's outfit as I fell over and my vision clouded.

Maidaku materialized next to me and I didn't feel my Resurrección fade. "You two! Get your asses over here!" Junsuina and Ameneko pushed their palms into my wound. Then my clone faded back to wherever the hell she always was.

"Keep fighting!" Itami commanded. "She'll pull through! We got Karakura's citizens away, now just fight! Act like Mia will die if you don't win!" I watched her whip around and saw her hair catch in the sunlight among shards of shattered ice. She took the mace attached by a cuff to her ankle and swung it around at her side. Facing Aizen, she yelled, "Embrace!" The mace surrounded her in a cloud of black and when it exploded in beams all around her, her legs and arms were covered in large, black spikes. She gained some head armor that covered her forehead and had horn-like extrusions sticking out of the metal.

Yudokuna twirled into place next to Itami. "Drip," Another longer green blade slid out from under the first, and then another, until there were three on each side of the handle.

The other Gang members backed up as Kamen pushed them back when Rensuta and her dragons landed together. I sat up weakly to watch. "Surround and suffocate," I flinched. Okay, that was demented. And when I blinked, I saw silver scales covering her body, silver dragon wings emerge from her back under her shawl, and a thick dragon tail lash at the street. Her cloud dagger had only lengthened so it still looked like the wing/cloud things on the side of her panties, but was now a sword.

"Carve," Kamen mumbled, and The Gang spread into the trees but kept watch on the scene. Kamen gripped her sword with both hands as the metal melted around her fingers and hardened to form wrist guards connected to long extensions that went smoothly and sharply over her knuckles to form claw-like extensions that went a foot past her fingertips and were double-bladed. Her tail was also covered in spikes. She smirked as I stood.

If Aizen could beat me in my fourth Resurrección, then I'd have to go into my fifth.

"Amai shiro kama," And so, moral of the story: he was screwed.

After I appeared out of the ashes (yes, I caught fire, WTF, but totally awesome), I was wearing a pure white strapless dress that had incorporated my tube top into the design that covered my breasts. My shoes were silver boots with black laces, and when I opened my wings, they weren't wings. They were scythes that bent and moved like wings.

And suddenly, I felt like kicking ass.

Kamen lunged ahead of me and shoved her claws brutally into Aizen's forehead. Grotesque black, flaky blood followed as she withdrew her claws, delivered a powerful kick to his chest, and backed up. "Good luck, Mia. Nice wings. Use them wisely."

I didn't say anything but flicked my armored tail.

Spikes shot from Itami's arm and imbedded themselves inside of the already rotting body, then exploded his arms right off. New ones grew out of her skin and she winced at the apparent pain. Rensuta opened her mouth; an orange energy fizzled and sparked until a massive fireball lit up in front of her face and she let it fly at Aizen, who jumped out of the way. Ryu flew out and sent it back at our enemy and it hit him with, to say the least, a very colorful explosion. Heat reached my face and I could feel the metal on my back get hotter. _Note to self: Avoid Rensuta in this form. _

Yudokuna held her scythe so she was close to cutting off Aizen's head. I didn't even see her take a step. One second she was standing near Rensuta, shielding her face from the fire, and the second the bright colors faded, she had hooked the tip of one blade into Aizen's neck. Then she gave her weapon a rough yank and the body fell while black blood and what looked like rotting bone scattered. God, why were The Gang members so powerfully violent? "Mia! Destroy the Hōgyoku, before it re-connects all the parts lying around!"

I really, really, _really_ wanted to throw up. Honestly, that was just nasty. Grotesque. Barf-athon. Anything else? Probably not. I leaned over the dismembered body and saw the shining sphere of the Hōgyoku, raised my metal wings, and shoved the tips into it. It shook. The thing shook my whole body, and I jumped back before it exploded violently and only got some more searing metal-burns and a head wound. Like Ichigo. Ichigo gets head wounds a lot. I shook my head and switched to my normal form.

_Don't let the damage be that horrible…_ I closed my eyes and prayed as I heard the soft buzzing of everyone "becoming normal" again.

"You guys did well." Tenshi smiled and with a sarcastic tone, added, "You know, you did well destroying this section of the town. We'll start leading people back. Shinji should have already explained the whole 'what the hell we all are' thing. You Espada should clean up the rubble and such, and we'll lead people back."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen - Two Years from a Vicious Battle**

We were finally seniors in high school. Now, how many of us want to go to college and get an actual job?

Two of us. Neliel and I. We might get a scholarship for our grades, and if not, I'll bring up how, "Look, we all saved your fat asses two years ago!" And then Nnoitra might say something like, "Kiss my ass!" and then Harribel would be too drunk to even show up the first week. But…you know, she hadn't even touched a bottle of sake since we'd won.

It'd taken two years for everyone to pitch in and rebuild the area we destroyed (an office building, part of The Gang's forest, and the street), but we'd done it. We'd actually made the town prettier too. And after some careful explaining, the people here were perfectly happy with our existence. I was thrilled. I was happy.

The only thing that was bugging me was that I had two options: die in a year, or run away and hope I found a mate, never looking back again.

How would Nnoitra handle it? How would anyone handle it? I couldn't just sneak off easily. I wanted to stay local. I wanted to see them laughing and smiling without me as I lived with the new RoseClan. I wanted to see Harribel stop drinking, I wanted to see Ulquiorra marry Orihime (I'm hoping strongly), I wanted to see Grimmjow get out of this immature phase, I wanted to see Neliel fall in love, I wanted to see Itami lift that rule off of the group so Kamen and Szayel could stay together… I wanted Nnoitra to love someone besides me.

As I wrote the last page I'd ever write in my journal, I began to cry, pathetically. I wouldn't get to finish school. I wouldn't get to oversee the Espada – my family, my true family – "grow up" and get jobs, and watch each one fall in love until the house was too big to hold any more people, or watch Harribel try to cook, or kiss Nnoitra again.

I crept into his room silently and he raised his head. I had my phone off and in my bra despite knowing when I got where I wanted to, I'd bury it and never look back, and my journal hidden away in the folds of my bow fabric. It made the bow look bulky and unnatural. But who would notice? No one. Not tonight. They were all asleep.

I curled up next to Nnoitra on his couch-bed but didn't cover myself with any blankets.

"Mia, can I tell you something?" He whispered, making me nearly cry again. I just… I couldn't say it. I didn't have the power or the will or the strength left. Let's face it – I was slowly, slowly dying, not just because of that mission. I nodded but I couldn't meet his eye. "I… I love you."

"I love you too," I choked out, trying not to cry and squinting hard when I felt water gather at the corners of my eyes. My big, weird, cat eyes that no one except my future Clan would look at. I couldn't love anyone else, ever again. How could I? Why should I? Because of that damned mission I had to "love" some other cat who wasn't ever going to know that I wasn't over this man who my fingers were interlocked with. This man that I'd dreamed of a future with.

I couldn't have another family like the Espada. They were too amazing. They loved me. I loved them. Was it so hard to scream for my Clan to take away that mission? After lying there, cursing the Clan that I loved, cursing myself, giving silent vows that I'd always love my non-deceased family, no matter what, screaming in the back of my mind that if Itami threatened Kamen and Szayel's relationship that I'd personally go kick her ass, crying silently in the dark, I heard the soft sound of Nnoitra's slowed breathing. He was asleep. I carefully but quickly slid my fingers out from between his and untwined myself from his warmth and kissed his forehead. I needed to leave a note, for when he woke.

I scratched a small hole in my finger and wrote, "I love you, always" on a sticky note and put it on his desk next to a photo of us together at that school dance awhile back. He'd notice it. I'd deleted all the Espada from my contacts because… I cried harder and I couldn't see where I was walking anymore. I didn't know why. The house was dark but luckily I was a cat so I could see…ish. I could hear Harribel snoring as I walked past her bedroom. She'd better not drink when I was gone… but I couldn't do anything for her now.

On my way by I slipped a note on the kitchen door that said, "I love all of you so much. Thank you for everything. Take care, guys." I didn't sign it. They'd know… I wasn't smart for walking out the front door, but I did, and then spread my wings to take off. I couldn't look back at my beautiful white home in the moonlight. I couldn't look back. I had to look ahead. If I knew that they wouldn't feel my spiritual pressure die, I would have shot down at the street and killed myself then. I was flying slow because I didn't, no, I _couldn't_ just leave. I loved them. I loved Orihime as a sister no matter how much bullshitted stupidity left her mouth, I thought of Ichigo as an idiot but an amazing friend, I loved The Gang, I loved everyone, and now I had to leave everything and act like it was nothing.

"Mia!"

Nnoitra.

"Don't go!" His voice was fading as I sped up, leaving black feathers in my wake. "Why are you leaving? Look at me!" His voice cracked, and then it was a numb sound that I couldn't hear. I sped up, faster and faster, until I was surrounded by stars. _Thank you, so much, everyone. I'll never, ever, forget everything you guys did for me. Stay safe and happy while I'm gone. _


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen - …**

Neliel had woken later than usual that morning. Maybe Mia had already cooked breakfast. Maybe Mia was in the pool because, after all, it was summer, and that chick was a cat who loved water. She rose with a smile on her face and stretched. "Good morning, everyone!" She said to herself. "I hope you guys are up now. It's ten in the morning, after all!" She beamed at herself in the mirror and touched the red stripe on her cheek.

When she got downstairs she saw no one was up and flicked on the mansion lights. _Mia-chan…silly girl, you need to turn on the lights. We lack windows here._ She pushed into the kitchen. Mia was not there. No smells of her delicious concoctions wafted into her nostrils. The dining room was empty and the table cloth was still crisp and clean, as were the flowers in a vase at the table center.

_She may have just gone to the pool. It's pretty hot in here._ Neliel sighed and walked outside, into the searing daylight, to see the pool dirty and empty. _She must be asleep, then. _

Neliel quickly climbed the stairs and opened Mia's door. Her bed was a mess. Her window was open. Her curtain fluttered in the wind. An empty feeling clutched Neliel's stomach. "Harribel-chan," Neliel pushed into the darker skinned girls room. Her blankets were lying on the floor and her yellow tanktop was riding halfway up her body, but her same-shade-of-yellow shorts were just fine. "Have you seen Mia-chan anywhere?"

Harribel sat up, rubbing sleep from her gigai's eyes. "No, I've been asleep, Neliel. Did you look in Nnoitra's room? She's probably in there."

Neliel blinked. _I never look for anything in that asshole's room._ She thought as she skitted across the balcony and whipped open Nnoitra's door. He looked…crushed. Now she was concerned. Now something had really happened. She was scared to ask, but she murmured, "Have you seen Mia anywhere?"

When Nnoitra sat up, Neliel could see that he was crushed, that he may have been crying. "I'll explain," He mumbled, getting out of his couch-bed thing, "but will you call a family meeting?"

Neliel fought the thought that was growing on her, that Mia had left. She had a year to live, but still. Why couldn't she have taken them with her? Why couldn't she have faced them and just admitted she had to leave? As Neliel ran down the stairs in an attempt to fight all her awful thoughts, she yelled, "Family meeting, get up!" In the same way Mia had always done and sat on the couch as the coldness and loneliness crept up her spine.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen – Family Meeting**

Harribel pushed out of her room. _She must have found Mia with Nnoitra. That figures as much. _She stretched and leaned over the balcony as the other Espada gathered on the couches downstairs. "Hey, so you found her, eh? What's the meeting abou-" Her voice faltered in her throat when she saw that Mia wasn't there.

Coming downstairs, she sat next to Neliel, green eyes wide.

Nnoitra spoke when everyone shut up, "I don't know why…but Mia left. Last night."

Neliel stood up. "She had a year to live, from that mission. Do you remember it? The thing she was supposed to find was a mate. She had to restore RoseClan. Only Harribel and I have known this, but we found out without Mia telling us," Neliel took a gulping, shuddering breath and sat down. "She's gone, guys."

Harribel turned around. She wouldn't let the others see the pain on her face. Her aspect of death was sacrifice, so why couldn't she sacrifice Mia? Mia was only one of the Espada. Mia was only another large-breasted girl.

Mia was only like a little sister to her.

A small white paper hanging off the kitchen door caught her eye. She crossed the main floor and grabbed it, and sat amoung the group to read it.

"I love all of you so much. Thank you for everything. Take care, guys." Harribel felt tears gathering in her eyes. _Why am I crying? Why? _"It's from…Mia…" Even saying her name was difficult. _Someone I hold dear to me is gone. So what? So what, Tia Harribel? So what if the girl who you respected and see as a little sister is gone? Suck it up, you baby!_

"Her mission was to find a fucking _mate?_" Nnoitra burst out, knocking over the vase on the table filled with Mia's favorite white roses. "Why couldn't _I _be that mate?" A tear hit the broken glass and rippled the water that spilled anywhere.

"Her mate had to be a cat, Nnoitra!" Neliel stomped her foot. "No one could have changed that fate! Did you want her to die? Did you want her to _die?_"

Tears were flooding out Harribel's eyes as Szayel's eyes widened and he said, "She really left, without saying goodbye?"

Even Grimmjow didn't have a comment. He gawked at the two arguing around the table, eyes wide, looking like a boulder just struck the ground before him.

Harribel's body shook as she tried to stop crying. _Stop it! Stop it! You're a woman, a strong woman! How dare you let something like this… something like this…_ She stood and tried to walk away but fell at the base of the staircase and caught herself on wobbly arms. Tears formed a puddle before her. "Why'd she have to leave? She couldn't take any of us with her? She couldn't tell us she was going to leave?" Neliel lifted her to her feet and dragged her slowly up the stairs. Blinded by tears, she stumbled twice before she got to her bed and began filling her pillow with water. _I would've given my life to have her stay here. Why was she forced to go? That fucking CLAN! I hate them!_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen – The Gang's Plan**

Kamen looked at the sky. It was late. Fuck, it was like, fucking midnight. Itami stood next to her. "Looks like Mia doesn't have much longer to live. Her aura's off and it's stressed and she's flying quickly, but crookedly."

Yudokuna woke the rest of the group and stood on Kamen's other side. "Where do you think she's headed to?"

Tenshi gasped. "She's about to cross worlds!"

A rip appeared in the sky and Mia flew into it, not noticing anything. "Rensuta!" Itami yelled, whipping around. "You can cross worlds – you're the only one of us who _can!_" Rensuta got on Ryu's back as her other four dragons gathered around her.

"Would you like me to tail her?" Rensuta asked.

Itami nodded. "Bring Kamen and Yudokuna. I want you to tail her. Don't let anything harm her. I have a feeling something is going to happen. We need to bring her back, even if it takes years." Kamen hopped on Ryu's back after Yudokuna and they took off.

_I want to do this for her Espada friends. I can sense distress from all the way out here. She really put a dent in everything. We're coming to get you back, Mia. We'll get you out of that fancy little mission of yours and everyone will be happy. Screw that Clan – if you want a mate, you choose someone here, you hear me, you fucking bitch? _


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen – The Castle that Never Was**

I'd been flying for what, days? It seemed like days. I'd flown everywhere. Above gardens, above cities, above places that I'd never known existed. I don't know much outside of Hueco Mundo and Karakura, but still. My phone vibrated and instead of laughing at the tickling it brought, I became scared. Who was texting me? I was going to cry all over again. My phone must've turned on by itself.

_"Yo. You know, you devastated everyone. Szayel won't do his lab work, Harribel cries and in between crying she drinks and in between drinks she sobs some more. Nnoitra won't come out of his room. The guys have stopped those ridiculious strip poker games. Orihime is here helping me comfort everyone. They miss you. So do I. I know I may be asking too much, but will you please promise to come back one day? At least once? – Neliel"_

I didn't want to reply and I didn't know what I should say. But I typed, _"I'm sorry. I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back. For the sake of keeping their hopes up, tell them that I promised to come back one day. Please don't reply, for I am shutting this phone off. I love you all, again. I'll surely always think of you."_ And then I pressed the power button, cried longer, and flew above a castle.

A castle. WTF? I was curious. I felt drawn to this place… maybe I could stay here? Maybe they had a royal cat? I walked in the front door and through empty cooridors until I came upon a room with thirteen thrones. People in black cloaks were sitting in them. Where was I? I had no clue.

"Who is that?" A girl's high voice raised above the chatter of the group. They jumped down and came near me. The girl was blonde, and her hair was the oddest crap I'd ever seen. It was short but two parts of it formed antannae like extensions that went over the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, I was just looking for a place to stay!" I got on my hands and knees, ready to beg if I had to. I was just giving up. There wasn't a point to any of this. Why, why couldn't I go back and be happy without dying?

"Get out, intruder!" A grayish blue haired man raised his voice. He looked emo, but we won't bother with that.

"I'm sorry!" I repeated loudly. "I'm not trying to intrude!"

The girl held blue and yellow knives in between her fingers and pointed them at my throat. "You'd better get your ass out of here if you know what's good for you!"

I started to back away, but a darker skinned, gray haired man kneeled next to me. "Wait, wait, Larxene and Zexion." He tilted my chin up so I had to look at him. "She seems strong. Dear, would you like to join the organization?"

"If it means I can stay here for a little while, then…yes, sir." I mumbled as the others all snorted and rolled their eyes, etc, around me.

"Of course, my dear. What is your name?"

"Mia Calevero." I stood up the same time he did.

"I see. One more thing before you join us." He put his hand on my forehead the same time Carmeltail yelled for me to "lea". To…lea? My mind blackened as my connection with my son was cut and when I woke up in a pure white room, all I knew was my name. _I am Mia Calevero. But…who, where, what, am I? _


End file.
